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What does Cuenca need to have international flights? We detail the technical issues of the track, migration, obstacles and improvements that this airport should make to be able to have flights abroad directly.
Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca is a thriving city and its tourist potential is immensely proportional to being a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Both by surface and by inhabitants, The metropolitan area of Cuenca is the third largest in the country and has more 660 thousand people as potential travelers, which makes it a very attractive destination for airlines.
Despite this great potential, which at least in numbers is interesting, solo 2 regular airlines operate in this city, Tame EP and LATAM Ecuador together they operate 39 weekly frequencies to the only current national destination, Quito.
Passenger numbers have increased and this year has been the best, We will talk about this topic in a future installment..
Previously, AeroGal also maintained regular flights from Quito, but it closed its operation and the route from Guayaquil de Tame, also stopped operating.
In the first days of November, for one more celebration of the independence of Cuenca, authorities made the announcement that they would be negotiating with an airline of USA the start of international direct flights.
This is an excellent initiative and news, although for this to happen in the medium or short term, Cuenca Airport should have some additional adaptations and improvements that make it feasible.
current challenges
- Airport located at 2.532 altitude meters – limits autonomy, passengers and cargo.
- short track 1.900 meters long – limits autonomy, passengers and cargo.
- Mountains – obstacles hindering the operation, passengers and cargo.
- Lack of migration counters.
- Customs area need.
- Not having an international category.
improvements
The Airport has carried out several works that have allowed it to maintain its operations safely and up to date with current aeronautical trends..
For instance, In approach systems, new satellite and GPS landing procedures have been implemented that allow for more environmentally friendly operations and operations with less visibility.. It also has an ILS landing system., PAPI and track lights.
A few years ago the terminal was renovated, new facilities and boarding rooms were implemented, parking of nose aircraft began, improving operability and waiting times, among others in the commercial area of the airport.
With all these improvements, the airport can continue to grow, but direct international flights are still far from being a reality.
Its short and high track, restricts the distance planes can fly directly. under current conditions, los aviones tendrían que penalizar los pasajeros y carga máxima que podrían transportar para poder despegar de forma segura y poder «salir» de la zona montañosa y librarse de los obstáculos.
To be able to have direct flights like those proposed to the United States, the runway would have to be expanded to allow flights with greater autonomy and this requires expropriating nearby land or building the runway on streets, for example, Madeira.
Other mandatory improvements are the implementation of migration and customs for daily flight control, which would currently be limited by the physical spaces of the Airport.
Cuenca Airport currently does not have the international category, which is a process that would be easier to carry out than the previous ones before the aeronautical authority. For now, this Airport is considered as interborder only.
With all these improvements, direct international flights to the United States could be possible, but the technical and economic feasibility will determine its future.
Another alternative, They would be international flights with an intermediate stopover in another city in Ecuador before continuing to the United States or another country, but this would reduce profitability and raise the cost of tickets.
Airport Project 2060
The Airport is growing and the potential is enormous. It is not the first time that there has been talk of potential international flights.
Copa Airlines has shown interest in flying when conditions allow and a few years ago Star Peru made a couple of cross-border flights, but these did not progress. many years ago, Avianca carried out the Bogota operation – Quito – Cuenca, but over time they stopped working.
Cross-border flights would be a good start for the internationalization of Cuenca as an example, towards Chichayo or Piura.
New Airport
In the long term, a new airport is necessary to meet all the expectations of the city, continue to grow and attract new domestic and international airlines.
For it, The Cuenca Airport Corporation has developed a long-term plan with important investments and that will be developed according to the growth of passengers.
2018
- Studies will be carried out for track rehabilitation, RESA feasibility, passenger demand and aeronautical studies for an investment of $620.000.
2020
- Track rehabilitation by $10 millions of dollars.
2021
- Security areas at the ends of both headends 23 and 05 (RESA) for $20 millions of dollars.
2034
- Second remodeling of the terminal that includes expansion of the air terminal, apron and aircraft parking area for approximately $26 millions of dollars.
2044
- Third. remodeling of the terminal that includes expansion of the air terminal and apron.
2045 al 2050
- Aeronautical feasibility and meteorological studies for the new airport.
2051 al 2055
- Airport feasibility and engineering.
2056 al 2062
- Construction of the New Cuenca Airport for an approximate value of $616 millions of dollars.
the future, very good news is coming for Cuenca.
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They barely made it to 2100 for the new airport, That's ridiculous
What happened to the sleeves from the old Quito airport that were donated to Cuenca??
Anything, As the Cuenca Airport did not carry out its installation plan, the sleeves remained unused and are in Quito.
interesting note
It seems to me that the performance issue is the most limiting of all, a direct flight to Miami required at least 14 tons of fuel that penalize the payload. The temperature of the airport at hot noon would penalize the performance. The short track is the main barrier to overcome, because logistical issues such as the implementation of migration and customs is a manageable issue since it is physical infrastructure that can be attached to the terminal.
Another very interesting point is the demand, if the passenger flow is constant, it would justify the entire operating cost of the new route or a study of weekly frequencies (not daily) that allows the rotation of teams and of course the contingencies.
Again, in retrospect, the dimensions of the track would be the main factor that generates the limitation to be overcome, Geographically, the airport requires a fairly extensive engineering work in both headers and that entails the analysis of how to improve the existing operational procedures., with a larger runway and terminals, could be a route alternate airport as well.
Since it is not only the issue of profitability but all the security parameters that must be met.
Personally, the issue of a frequent route to Guayaquil is very oriented to connecting passengers only., since the land route through the Cajas is short, buena, It is in good condition and you also have your vehicle at the destination and at a much lower cost.
Unfortunately, The airport is at the top of its capacities due to the runway issue. To the north, the extension would affect the Quinta Chica sector and many industrial complexes, two hundred meters long, for example, would not greatly increase the possibility of increasing 1000 kilos to payload, and to the south is the cemetery and neighborhoods near the Chola Cuencana.
Quoting your text:
«Interfronterizos flights would be a good start for the internationalization of Basin as an example, Towards Chichayo or Piura »
interesting proposal, However, we do not have a constant market such as the USA or Europe where there are resident colonies that would be interested in the new route..
Greetings
Hello Adonis, good point, the issue of profitability is another factor. For more conditions for direct to the USA that there could be, That it is profitable will already be another subject of studies, but at first glance I see it complicated.
Thanks Nicholas very good information. Suddenly it is already defined in which place the meteorological data for the future new airport of Cuenca is beginning to be taken?
I understand they are in it, but they must already have previously defined the prequalified areas.
Very interesting, Nicholas. the question arises, And what about Galapagos?, What issues would prevent flights between Cuenca and the islands?? These are two highly visited destinations and a flight like this could be attractive.
The distance and the short track of Cuenca. To the Galapagos the plane must leave with all the fuel to go and return, since there is no refueling.