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Airport Santiago (Chile) - Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez

For other uses, see Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez.
Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Pudahuel Airport
Santiago International Airport
IATA: SCL ICAO: SCEL
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago
Location Santiago, Chile
Elevation AMSL 1,555 ft / 474 m
Coordinates 33°2334S 70°4708W / 33.39278°S 70.78556°W / -33.39278; -70.78556
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17R/35L 12,467 3,800 Asphalt
17L/35R 12,298 3,748 Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passenger Numbers 9,017,718
Passenger Statistics from Aeropuerto de Santiago[1]

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport "AMBIA" (IATA: SCL, ICAO: SCEL), also known as Pudahuel Airport and Santiago International Airport, located in Pudahuel, Santiago, Región Metropolitana is Chile's largest aviation facility. It served 9,017,718 passengers[1] in 2008.

Contents

History

The airport was built between 1961 and 1967 and was originally called Aeropuerto Internacional Pudahuel; it replaced Los Cerrillos Airport.

The name of the airport was subsequently rechristened in honor of the founder of the Chilean Air Force: Arturo Merino Benítez during the 1970s.

The facility was expanded in 1994 with a new international terminal. This expansion added jetways, a duty-free zone, hotel, and greater parking.

The airport was damaged during the 2010 Chile Earthquake. The airport authority has closed off all flight operations for the next 24 hours from around 1200 UTC on February 27.[2]

Runway debacle
 This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

In 2002 a new terminal opened; construction on Runway 17R/35L began in 2004 and opened to traffic in September 2005. However, within months defects were discovered and the runway required repairing, completed in January 2006. Unfortunately further study of the problem discovered that the repairs were insufficient. The runways were declared useless due to their poor surface and resistance defects. 28-year-old Runway 17L/35R in contrast only required repairing once, in 2005. Additionally the runway's approach system was deficient and lacked the ILS Category III approach system used for low visibility; that is used by the older runway. The runway was rebuilt beginning in February 2007 and reopened for traffic in March.

2010 earthquake

The airport's international terminal suffered damage after the February 27, 2010 earthquake, but the runways were unharmed. Full operation resumed on March 3, 2010.[3]

Accidents and Incidents

No airline disasters have occurred at the site. However in 1972 a chartered flight by an Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Chilean Andes while en route to SCL. Furthermore on October 2, 1996, flight 603, an AeroPerú Boeing 757 crashed into the Pacific Ocean before its arrival from Lima, Perú's Jorge Chávez International Airport, killing all on board.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

There is an international terminal (I), with 10 gates (numbered 10-20; no gate 13) and a smaller domestic terminal (D) with 7 gates (numbered 21-27). VIP services are offered in both terminals of the airport. The operators are: LAN Airlines with the Neruda Lounge and the Mistral Lounge, American Airlines (Admirals Club), and the SkyTeam alliance; in addition to the unaffiliated lounges.


Airlines Destinations Terminal
Aerolínea Principal Antofagasta, Iquique, Calama D
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires-Aeroparque [begins 14 March], Buenos Aires-Ezeiza [ends 13 March][4] I
Aeroméxico Mexico City I
Air Canada Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Toronto-Pearson I
Air France Paris-Charles de Gaulle I
American Airlines Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami I
Avianca Bogotá I
Copa Airlines Panama City I
Delta Air Lines Atlanta I
Gol Airlines Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, São Paulo-Guarulhos I
Iberia Madrid I
LAN Airlines Antofagasta, Arica, Auckland, Balmaceda, Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Calama, Cancún, Caracas, Concepción, Copiapó, Córdoba, Frankfurt, Guayaquil, Hanga Roa, Havana, Iquique, La Paz, La Serena, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mendoza, Mexico City, Miami, Montevideo, New York-JFK, Osorno, Papeete, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Punta Cana, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Sydney, Temuco, Toronto-Pearson, Valdivia D, I
LAN Argentina Buenos Aires-Ezeiza I
LAN Ecuador Guayaquil, Quito I
LAN Perú Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Lima I
PLUNA Asunción, Florianópolis, Montevideo, Punta Arenas I
Sky Airline Antofagasta, Arequipa, Arica, Balmaceda, Calama, Concepción, Copiapó, El Salvador, Iquique, La Paz, Puerto Natales, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Temuco D, I
TACA Perú Lima I
TAM Airlines Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, São Paulo-Guarulhos I
TAM Paraguayan Airlines Asunción I
Cargo Terminal

References

  1. ^ a b Passenger Traffic for 2008
  2. ^ "Reuters earthquake report". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q0S920100227. Retrieved February 27, 2010. 
  3. ^ (French) Business Travel, "Aéroport de Santiago au Chili: retour à la normale mercredi", 2 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2010)
  4. ^ Aerolineas to move 160 weekly flights from Ezeiza to Aeroparque 19 Feb 10

External links

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Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport · El Loa International Airport · Chacalluta International Airport
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