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FEATURE<br />
GUAYAQUIL<br />
widebody flights last year using its first A330<br />
on its daily flight to JFK. There was talk of<br />
moving this service to Quito, but for now it<br />
continues to depart from GYE.<br />
A second link between Guayaquil and the<br />
US is provided by American Airlines’ two<br />
daily flights to Miami. Depending on the<br />
season these can use either a 737-800<br />
or a 767. Until recently, AeroGal offered<br />
widebody flights to the US using 757s and<br />
767s. When the airline was acquired by<br />
Avianca in 2009, the decision was made to<br />
route all long-haul services through Bogota,<br />
Columbia and strengthen the carrier’s main<br />
hub. Avianca also serves its secondary hubs<br />
in Lima and San Salvador with a daily flight.<br />
A fierce competitor of Avianca, Copa<br />
Airlines, offers four daily links to its hub<br />
in Panama City and provides numerous<br />
connections from there. The Peruvian capital<br />
Lima is served daily by LAN, as are Santiago<br />
de Chile (one flight a day) and Buenos Aires’<br />
Ezeiza Airport with five flights. There are<br />
currently no direct flights from GYE to Brazil.<br />
New airport<br />
The growth rates of GYE in recent years<br />
mean it is only a matter of time before it<br />
reaches its limits in terminal space and<br />
runway capacity. Surrounded by urban<br />
development, there is very little room for<br />
expansion and so a site has been identified<br />
for an entirely new airport for the city. The<br />
new facility will be built in Daular,<br />
approximately 20 miles (32km) to the<br />
southwest of central Guayaquil. In a first<br />
phase, it will have two parallel runways, the<br />
longest measuring 13,451ft (4,100m). Until<br />
it is available for commercial flights, GYE’s<br />
operator TAGSA will continue to invest in<br />
the existing airport to ensure it remains<br />
modern and easy to use – two of the reasons<br />
it is still one of Latin America’s most<br />
popular airports.<br />
Panama hats (first developed in Ecuador) are popular<br />
with tourists and are on sale in several airport shops.<br />
Charging stations for mobile<br />
phones and other electronic<br />
devices can be found<br />
throughout the terminal.<br />
www.airportsworld.com 81
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