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The Quito Mariscal Sucre International Airport wants to become a hub regional freight to boost employment and local economy.
The world burden continues to grow and in Ecuador this trend has continued to rise and the Quito airport the country's main export point, There are several opportunities to develop, where thanks to its infrastructure, runway and air traffic make it a strategic point for the development of a cargo hub.
Why Quito should become a charging hub?
Historically, the economy of Ecuador It has had several sources of income with segments that stimulate the generation of jobs and investment. The economic structure of the country maintains several props that generate millions in foreign currency income, where one of them is the export of oil products as the main exportable product and non-oil products that day by day continue to grow in their tangible importance for the economy in Ecuador.
For this reason, is that thanks to the initiative of the Metropolitan Public Company of Airport Services and Management of Free Zones and Special Regimes - EPMSA with its manager Sandro Ruiz and Mr. Eduardo Emanuele of the company Pertraly S.A. it began from the 7 May 2020 the structural analysis of the project to convert and declare Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport into a cargo hub.
General context
According to the International Air Transport Association – IATA, air cargo is highly important in the economy of countries and their production chains given that:
- It is a trade facilitator that contributes to global economic development and creates millions of jobs.
- The world economy depends on the ability to offer high-quality products at competitive prices to consumers around the world..
- Air cargo transports goods worth more than 6 billions of dollars, which represents approximately 35% value in world trade.
local situation
Within this general context, export products by air have diversified in Ecuador, where at the time 90% of exports were flowers, but that with the passage of time and thanks to new agreements and commercial openings has allowed other products such as bananas, pitahaya, shrimp, café, tuna, fish and others take a noticeable share of the market, generate even more employment and productive chain that benefits the country as a whole.
is so what, air cargo has taken on a fundamental notoriety for Ecuador thanks to its shorter transfer times and security in which the cargo will reach its recipient without setbacks, highlighting four international airports for the departure of this cargo:
- Quito Mariscal Sucre International Airport
- Manta Eloy Alfaro International Airport
- Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
- Latacunga Cotopaxi International Airport
These four air terminals have been, at different stages of air development, point of entry and exit of cargo in the country, each with its infrastructure or market limitations, but all contributing to the growth of the country.
But without any doubt, one of these cities has gained greater notoriety and global importance year after year thanks to the fact that since the 2013 a brand new airport with better services was inaugurated, infrastructure, technical capabilities and technology that currently allow it to concentrate close to the 90% of the country's export air cargo.
At Quito's Mariscal Sucre International Airport, since the year 2012 has seen a growth of 133.104 tons on departure load to more than 194.098 tons in the year 2018, which represents an increase in 46%, boosted in addition to the benefits of the new airport, to new commercial agreements and the arrival of new cargo airlines such as Emirates Sky Cargo, Qatar Charge, Turkish Cargo, Air Canada Cargo, Ethiopian Cargo and others with a marked presence, be it on a regular commercial or charter basis..
Does 12 years, by Quito Airport, before the opening of the new terminal, had only four cargo airlines and maintained the 57.74% air operations, but with the opening of the new facilities this began to maintain an average 72 weekly frequencies in low season and more than 104 weekly flights during Valentine's, which makes it the third airport in Latin America in exports after Sao Paulo and Bogotá.
in the opposite direction, imports occupy a much smaller volume with products such as machinery, pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, live animals, perishable food and others, which unbalances the air balance, making the freight value more expensive for Ecuadorian exporters, since in many cases, the planes arrive in Ecuador in ferry condition or empty, transferring the cost of this flight without cargo towards the final cost of the Ecuadorian product, losing competitiveness in the main export markets such as the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
current world situation
In a new IATA report we can learn how air cargo continues to be key in the economic recovery of airlines and economies worldwide, but despite this, demand is outpacing capacity.
The data shown below are compared to August 2019:
- global demand, measured in freight ton-kilometres (CTK), increased a 7,7% compared to August 2019 (8,6% for international operations). Overall growth remains strong compared to the long-term average growth trend of around 4,7%.
- The growth rate slowed slightly compared to July, which registered an increase in demand for 8,8% (vs. pre-COVID-19 levels).
- Cargo capacity recovery halted in August, a 12,2% less than in August 2019 (13,2% for international operations). MoM, capacity dropped a 1,6%, the biggest drop since January 2021.
Among the positive global indicators, our region continues to show the weakest numbers in the progress of the recovery, this given by the regional economic situation itself and by the restrictions on flights implemented by governments:
- It was reported a decrease in 14% in international cargo volumes in August compared to the period 2019, marking the weakest performance of all regions. Capacity remains severely constrained in the region, with a reduction in the international capacity of the 27,1% in August, the biggest drop of any region in the world.
- While Latin America keeps falling, the rest of the regions have maintained positive numbers during August 2021 And here the challenge arises to position Quito as an innovative city and leader in air cargo transport both in dedicated aircraft and in "belly cargo"..
Purpose of the charging hub
What this project seeks is to generate the bases that allow the development of greater air cargo connectivity in Ecuador, focused on the Quito Mariscal Sucre International Airport thanks to its main strength, what is export cargo.
With export cargo cemented and strengthened despite global pandemic conditions, Quito Airport has the competitive advantage of being able to offer extensive facilities, modern, a runway for landing and takeoff 4090 meters long, strategically located near the middle of the world, but above all, have the capacity to metrically handle thousands of tons of cargo that arrive in the country to be redistributed to the south of the continent in the shortest possible time and cost..
The proposal is based on the fact that the cargo airlines of the region use the Quito Airport as an end point and start point for their operations., so that they should not consume long flight sections such as between Miami and Santiago de Chile, but the cargo stays in Quito, from which in smaller aircraft (not necessarily) will be distributed to Lima, Buenos Aires, Peace, São Paulo, Montevideo and other important cities of About America.
This will ensure that the planes arrive in Quito with both input and output cargo, directly benefiting Ecuadorian exporters, which will make Ecuadorian products better valued in international markets in the face of a drop in freight values per kilo.
With improvements and expansion of the international cargo terminal, Quito Airport would become one of the most important air cargo centers in America.
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