Guayaquil 2018: construction of the Daular Mega Airport

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The 27 July 2006 the current Guayaquil terminal was inaugurated, baptized as José Joaquín de Olmedo, in honor of the first mayor of the city. nine years later, the plans for the construction of a new airport are already a reality and from the 2018 began the construction of what will be the first Daular Mega Airport in the country.

UPDATE 11/07/2018:

The start of construction of the Daular Mega Airport, that I should start this 2018, has been suspended until further notice. Meet the reasons for this postponement here: www.nlarenas.com/2018/07/por-que-se-aplazo-la-construccion-del-nuevo-aeropuerto-daular/

Guayaquil Airport History

The few records that there are of the aerial beginnings in Guayaquil, which would also be the beginnings of aviation in Ecuador, they talk about a racecourse, from which the first plane would fly in Ecuador, and New Novara and Valgoi, with motor 50 HP, called homeland 1 by Italian-Ecuadorian captain Cosme Renella, first aviator in the country and pioneer in all of South America. Cosme Renella, World War I pilot 7 takedowns, He is considered the father of Ecuadorian military aviation and would die on 3 May of 1937 in Quito. The 8 October 1913 the first flight is made in Ecuador, by Renella, marked a before and after for the aeronautical history of the country. Later the first "track" would become the "Guayas shooting and aviation club" with a Bleriot plane and years later in 1920 this club would move forming the first aviation school in Durán, East of Guayaquil at the so-called El Cóndor aerodrome.

Currently located in the middle of the most important commercial city in the country, Its construction dates back to the years 40, although exact date information is unclear, the first airstrip of proportions and with technical character of Guayaquil, which, like most of Ecuador's airports of that time, it was built for military purposes initially. as history shows, Guayaquil was always a pole of growth and aeronautical innovation. With the arrival of Panagra in Ecuador, the airport experienced rapid growth, from which you could get there on flights from 5 days to Lima, Arica, Santiago and Buenos Aires. The years passed and airlines like San, Saeta and Ecuadorian in the 70s, which used Guayaquil as a HUB for the development of their international and national routes.

For the year 2 000 the airport exceeded 2 million passengers per year, with which the first concerns of the authorities to improve the infrastructure or build a new airport began. already in the 2 003 the construction of a new terminal was announced on the current airport grounds until the construction of an airport is economically and technically feasible 100% new in what the studios would call “Daular Mega Airport”. The current airport improvement plan contemplated the construction of a new terminal focused directly on international flights and the permanence of the then terminal that would operate with domestic flights.. On 2 004 it was decided to unify the project and build a single new terminal 540 thousand square meters to handle national and international flights facilitating the operation of the airport.

The 31 of August 2006 all flights from the Simón Bolívar International Airport began to operate in the brand new, modern and renamed José Joaquín de Olmedo terminal, closing like this 60 years of service of the old terminal and becoming the main convention center of the city.

Since the inauguration of 2006, authorities expect to meet the city's airport needs until 2021, when the new airport in Daular should start operating, and at that time the Guayaquil Airport would also have exceeded the 7 million passengers per year, fulfilling the objective of solving 15 years the air operations of the main commercial city of the country.

Present

More of 4 million passengers transit each year in what is considered the "Best Airport in Latin America and the Caribbean", the “Best Airport in the World in the category of 2 a 5 million” according to the ACI – Airport Council International and also as “Best Regional Airport in South America”, award given by World Airport Awards based on user ratings, award that the terminal has received for 4 consecutive years. These awards have positioned the airport as a benchmark in the region, where it competes with large airports like Lima, Bogota, Santiago and Panama. despite its size, this airport is characterized by its warmth, large transit areas, clean and modern facilities.

The Airport recently achieved certification ACI by Carbon Footprint Mapping level. Ensuring an environmentally friendly terminal and reducing the environmental impact of its operations.

The 31 July 2014 the inauguration of the first and only phase of expansion was celebrated, with which the airport ensures effective and comfortable coverage of traffic greater than more than 7.5 million passengers per year, rise in 2 million and a half its initial capacity. This expansion involved an investment of 15 million dollars by the Argentine private operator TAGSA. now with new 60.000 square meters of construction the airport seeks to maintain its position in the region, for what you are looking for from now on to be attractive again for airlines around the world, thinking in the long term in the operation of its "Mega Airport".

further, between ends of 2015 and the 2017 the construction of a new remote platform is planned in the vicinity of the control tower (opposite side of the current terminal) to cope with the growing commercial traffic and also the complete resurfacing of the runway.

Three aviation schools also operate at the airport, the three branches of the Armed Forces, where FAE, Army and Navy have independent operating platforms. It also has the permanent operation of the Police Air Service and a large number of private planes that operate for the main companies stationed in this thriving commercial city..

Technical data Guayaquil Airport

All this additional operation to the commercial or traditional cargo, make Guayaquil the second airport with the largest number of daily air operations in the country, reaching an average of 140 takeoffs and landings and maintains the second position in terms of passenger movement, being overtaken by Quito Airport.

Destinations and airlines

Although in the last 5 years the airlines operating at the airport have decreased, as an example MartinAir, Delta and United closed their frequencies, and Tame flights to Sao Paulo and New York have started to operate direct from Quito, operations continue to rise and the number of passengers accompanies this growth. Gone is the decline also in national passengers due to the influence of the new Quito Airport and the 2015 It is presented as the year of national recovery and of greater growth in the international.

The consolidation of three large domestic airlines has allowed supply and demand to adjust, generating better occupancy expectations per flight for them. At 2010 The Guayaquil – Quito route was the second busiest in all of South America, reaching 350 weekly operations, at that time four national airlines operated the route. Now the weekly operations between both cities reach 280 operations, with an interesting expectation of growth for the end of 2017.

On domestic flights from Guayaquil, the airlines arrive at the following destinations: Esmeraldas (suspended), Quito, Coca, Latacunga (suspended), Cuenca, Store, San Cristóbal and Baltra both in the Galapagos Islands. The increase in domestic destinations began in 2012 with the arrival of the Tame ATR42-500, with which it was possible to cover new destinations with low occupancy, but demanded by the people of Guayaquil. Avianca Ecuador and LAN Ecuador cover 3 destinations equally, while Tame reaches 8 national destinations.

Regarding the international flights that are covered from Guayaquil, travelers can reach destinations as far away as Amsterdam and others as close as Cali. Currently there are seven airlines that make flights abroad, covering the following destinations: Bogota, Fort Lauderdale, Madrid, Miami, New York, Panama, Lima, amsterdam, Santiago de Chile, Cali and San Salvador. Since April 2015 Guayaquil missed the direct LAN Ecuador flight to Buenos Aires with 5 weekly frequencies, now focusing on the flow of passengers via Santiago. Likewise, Avianca Ecuador recently operates daily flights to La Paz as an extension of the flight to Lima starting at Joaquín de Olmedo..

The cargo market has been diminished in Guayaquil, mainly with the departure of MartinAir, airline that used the airport as a medium stopover for flights of more than 6 hours and take advantage of its track at sea level. With the start of operations of the new Quito Airport, this scale was no longer necessary.. The presence of traditional airlines such as UPS and LAN Cargo is maintained with the main objective of carrying perishable cargo such as shrimp and fish to receptive markets abroad., flying mainly to Miami as a distribution center for the same. Few additional flights are made each year, But in the first quarter of 2015 the airport received new visitors such as Centurión Cargo and Atlas Air. Most cargo flights to Guayaquil have a final destination of Quito, which has taken away even more prominence in this field. The small DHL Ecuador maintains its daily flights to Panama in its ATR42-300F, with which it also makes some charter flights to Cuenca and Quito.

Projection

with yet 6 years of operation ahead, the airport faces two challenges. The first is to maintain its current position as one of the best airports in the world.; and the second to attract new operators or create incentives for current airlines to increase frequencies or increase their supply capacity..

DGAC Statistics.

DGAC Statistics.

DGAC Statistics.

The first point seems to be the easiest to achieve, for consecutive years the terminal has been recognized for its excellence, but new airports, including Quito, have entered the competition to snatch such an important global showcase. The new extension allows the airport to improve its spaces and comfort for the user. were built 3 new sleeves, commercial premises, was expanded duty free and the seats were renewed, now all with electrical connectivity. The improvement in services is continuous at the airport, and this has also been reflected in the shorter migration and customs times. Each improvement has been designed to be an attraction for current airlines and tempt others to fly to the city of Buenos Aires.

With the improvements made to its terminal, the airport must grow at higher rates to justify the investment made, this means, new airlines. The landscape is not easy, with a new airport competing within the same country, attracting potential airlines is a complicated task, that is why the authorities look for ways to attract them and motivate them to use the award-winning facilities.

While clear intentions or potential new airlines are awaited, little by little the airport has maintained its international operation and has even achieved that the first sign of important growth comes from American Airlines, which for the first time in 5 years will increase its capacity to Guayaquil for a period of 4 months, where it will change in one of its two frequencies to the Boeing 737-800 for the B757-200.

The new Daular airport

It will be located just 25 kilometers from the current terminal, but its dimensions are superior in every way. With a great project framework that even stipulates 3 operable tracks, the "Mega Airport" will begin to be a reality from the 2018.

Intended to be intercontinental and attract direct flights from Asia and the Middle East, their tracks will have important dimensions. The main will have 4 100 meters, while the secondary ones would have sizes between 3 500 and 3 800 meters, all would have the capacity to allow direct flights to the most remote destinations on the planet that the range of the aircraft in operation would allow them. On a surface of 2.020 hectares the project also contemplates 1 national and international main terminal, military platform, general aviation and the possibility of building 2 additional terminals when the demand so warrants until the year 2 053.

Geographic reference of the current and new position of the Airport. Photo courtesy of TAGSA.

General plan of the new Airport. Photo courtesy of TAGSA.

The project is currently receiving final design proposals from foreign consortia, Therefore, the estimated value of the initial work with two runways will vary between 500 and 900 millions of dollars, values ​​that will be adjusted as the final designs and scope of the project are defined. The progress of the work currently contemplates field studies, meteorology and even a radar to detect migratory flow of birds in the sector to complement environmental impact studies and future bird control.

The project will initially be financed by the current airport concessionaire TAGSA, which delivers monthly 50,52% of the net income of the terminal, which are transferred to a trust from which their funds are invested exclusively in everything related to the construction of the new airport.

Comparative

Guayaquil New City Project

The firm Perkins Eastman presented in the month of April 2018, after 10 months of work, the new construction project of a new city concept for the current premises of the Guayaquil Airport. This study contracted by the Municipality of Guayaquil has the objective of reinforcing the urbanity of the sector in stages.

The idea of ​​the project is to divide the 240 hectares of the airport in 3 sections called Garden, Centro and Marino with the aim of connecting the river with this new city. The construction of these will depend on the availability of resources and interest generated in the private company, public and investors.

Between the zones it is expected to build a new shopping center, a lake, museums, etc. It is estimated that the construction of this project will require 6 years and even a few $900 million dollars of investment.

Here is an explanatory video of this new project:

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