- Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
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For other uses, see Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez.
Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Pudahuel Airport
Santiago International AirportIATA: SCL – ICAO: SCEL Location of airport in Chile Summary Airport type Public and Military Operator SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago Location Pudahuel, Santiago Metropolitan Region - Chile Hub for Elevation AMSL 1,555 ft / 474 m Coordinates 33°23′34″S 70°47′08″W / 33.39278°S 70.78556°W Website Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 17R/35L 12,467 3,800 Asphalt 17L/35R 12,298 3,748 Asphalt Statistics (2010) Passenger Numbers 11,064,487 Passenger Statistics from Aeropuerto de Santiago Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (IATA: SCL, ICAO: SCEL), also known as Pudahuel Airport and Santiago International Airport, located in Pudahuel, 15 km (9.3 mi) north-west of downtown Santiago, is Chile's largest aviation facility and the busiest international air passenger gateway to the country. Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport has non-stop, international service to Europe, Oceania and the Americas. It served 11,064,487 passengers in 2010, being the 9th busiest airport in Latin America and the 6th busiest in South America by passenger traffic. It is the 7th busiest airport in Latin America by aircraft movements, serving 104,000 operations.[1] It is also a major connecting point for air traffic between Oceania and Latin America.
The Airport is owned by the Chilean State and operated since July 1998 by SCL Terminal Aéreo Santiago S.A. Sociedad Concesionaria, a consortium of companies formed by Agunsa (Chile), Grupo ACS (Spain) and Vancouver Airport Services (Canada). The Air traffic control is handled by the DGAC (Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil - Chile). Its ICAO category is 4E. In addition, it is the main hub and maintenance center for LAN Airlines, Sky Airline and PAL Airlines. The airport functions as a joint civil-military facility. It is the headquarters of the Chilean Air Force 2nd Air Brigade and where its 10th Aviation Group is based.
Contents
History
Early years
The demands of the growing metropolitan area of Santiago and the need for modern, jet-era airport facilities which could safely accommodate both domestic and inter-continental flights operated mainly with Boeing 707's, Boeing 727's, McDonnell Douglas DC-10's and later Boeing 747's drove the need to relocate the Chilean capital's principle airport from Los Cerrillos Airport (ICAO: SCTI; IATA: ULC) in the denser southwest metropolitan region of Santiago to the more rural northwest metropolitan area.
Construction of the original terminal building, the first runway (17L/35R), control tower, east apron and cargo facilities commenced in 1961. On February 2, 1967, the airport was commissioned Aeropuerto Internacional de Pudahuel, due to its location in the municipality of Pudahuel. On March 19, 1980, the airport was rechristened, Air Commodore Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in honour of the founder of the Chilean Air Force and Chilean carrier LAN Airlines.
Current passenger terminal
The facility was expanded in 1994 with a new international terminal that covers 90,000 square meters, inspired by the architecture of Marseille Provence Airport, France. The building is located between the two parallel runways. This expansion added a new control tower, jetways, a duty-free zone, hotel, and greater parking area. The old terminal was used for domestic flights until 2001, when all passenger operations were merged into the same building. In the following years, minor expansions have taken place, such as the inclusion of additional jetways.
The terminal building has four levels. The airport services are distributed in the following way:
- Ground floor: arrivals, Duty Free Shop, baggage claim, Customs and Border Control, Transport Services, parking areas, Holiday Inn Hotel access.
- First floor: Administrative offices, VIP lounges (Access through the second floor).
- Second Floor: Departures, Check-in areas, Border Control Police, Duty Free Shops, Restaurants, boarding halls and gates.
- Third Floor: Restaurants.
The terminal building hosts the following services: Bank office (a branch of Banco Santander), Chilean Automobile Club, Telecommunication Companies (Claro, Movistar and Entel PCS), Pharmacy, Travel Agencies, Insurance (Mapfre, AIG-Interamericana), Police Station (Carabineros de Chile).
In 2000, Lan Chile joined OneWorld, making of Arturo Merino Benitez Airport a main hub for the alliance, its first one in Latin America and its second in the Southern Hemisphere (After Qantas' Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport in Australia).
During the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the passenger terminal building suffered internal damages and the collapse of a pedestrian bridge between the vehicle ramp and the departures area. Nevertheless, both runways and control tower were unharmed, allowing the realization of a massive humanitarian air-bridge held by the Chilean Air Force to Concepción, Chile (Carriel Sur International Airport), close to the most damaged area by this earthquake and subsequent tsunami. The airport authority had closed off all commercial flight operations after around 1200 UTC on February 27, resuming full operations on March 3, 2010.[2][3]
In 2011, IATA recognized the DGAC (Chile’s provider of air navigation services) and SCL (Santiago Airport) with the Exceptional Recognition Award to the cooperative efforts of SCL and DGAC Chile that facilitated a quick recovery from the devastation that followed the Chilean earthquake on 27 February 2010. "Both airport and air navigation services were restored quickly with no impact on rates or charges for passengers or airlines. DGAC Chile and SCL are widely regarded as leaders in Latin America for efficiency, quality, and customer focus[4]
In June 2011, Santiago International Airport received the Air Cargo Excellence Award, as the best Latin American Cargo Airport. [5]
Santiago International Airport is the longest non-stop destination for Iberia and Air France for flights departing from their respective hubs in Madrid-Barajas Airport and Paris-Charles De Gaulle.Second runway
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 initial repairs were insufficient, needing additional work. Finally, 17R/35L reopened for traffic in March 2007.
Future expansion
In 2008, the airport terminal reached its maximum design capacity of 9.5 million annual passengers, 2 years in advance to forecast. This tight scenario is already showing a downgrade in the overall airport services, especially in the border control, check-in and baggage claim areas where queues are frequent in some early and late hours of the day.
For this reason, and with the repairs needed after the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the Ministry of Public Works informed that it will call for a tender in 2012 for the expansion and administration of the airport, 2 years prior to the end of the contract with the current operator.
The ministry decided to raise a whole new airport master plan instead of an expansion of the single passenger terminal building, as initially proposed by the current operator. The feasibility studies for this master plan will cost 4,560 Million Chilean Pesos (USD 9.4 Million) considered in the 2011 Fiscal Budget. For this new master plan, the Government has hired the consultancy services of Aéroports de Paris Ingeniérie (ADP-I), the architecture, engineering and technical branch of the French airport corporation.[6]
The expansion will take into account a capacity growth to 14 million annual passengers by 2014, 34 Million by year 2034 and 50 Million passengers by 2045. This plan will consider new detached passenger terminal buildings for International and Domestic flights, additional commercial areas and the construction of a light railway connecting the airport with the Santiago Metro network.[7]
Amenities
Hotels
- Holiday Inn Hotels finished in July 2007 the construction of a 5-floor building, internally connected to both terminals (International and domestic), with private parking slots and special services for passengers and guests. The hotel has 112 rooms, restaurants, bars, room-service, a conference hall for 170 people, gym, covered swimming pool, spa and wi-fi internet access.
- Hotel Diego de Almagro is located 2 km outside the airport area.
- The brand new Hilton Garden Inn Santiago Airport Hotel is located only 2.8 km from the Santiago international airport within the ENEA, one of the largest business complex in Santiago de Chile which hosts offices, big companies and entertainment. Complimentary shuttle service from the Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez International airport (in and out) is provided by Trans VIP. The hotel has 144 rooms, a fitness center, indoor swimming pool, sauna, 7 meeting spaces including a ballroom with capacity for up to 230 people, 24-hour business center and wireless room internet access. The hotel is close to a golf course and the Arauco Maipu Mall.
Shopping
The Santiago International Airport has four tax-free shops that offer a wide range of products to supply any need customers may have. They are handled by the Spanish Duty-free operator Aldeasa. One of them is located just after the police border control at departures, while another one is located before the baggage claim area.[8]
Souvenirs, jewelry, Chilean handcrafts and Wine Shops, music and accessories among others, are available in more than 70 stores from well-known international and national brands.
Restaurants
Santiago Airport has 21 well-known restaurants, coffee shops, and bars, located in the public area and in the national and international departing lounges. International franchises include Starbucks Coffee (both terminals), Ruby Tuesday (International terminal), Boost & Juice, Caffriccio and Dunkin' Donuts.
VIP lounges
In the International terminal, the operators are: LAN Airlines with the Neruda Lounge and the Mistral Lounge, American Airlines (Admirals Club), and the SkyTeam alliance (Delta Air Lines Sky Club); in addition to the unaffiliated lounges, such as Pacific Club.
Terminals, airlines and destinations
Airlines Destinations Terminal Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Mendoza 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 Transportes Aéreos Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, São Paulo-Guarulhos I Iberia Madrid I Lacsa Lima, San José de Costa Rica I LAN Airlines Antofagasta, Auckland, Balmaceda, Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Aeroparque, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Calama, Cancún, Caracas, Córdoba, Frankfurt, Guayaquil, Hanga Roa/Easter Island, Iquique, La Paz, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mendoza, Mexico City, Miami, Montevideo, Mount Pleasant, New York-JFK, Papeete, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Punta Cana, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Río Gallegos, Salta [seasonal], Santa Cruz de la Sierra, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Sydney D, I LAN Argentina Buenos Aires-Aeroparque I LAN Ecuador Guayaquil I LAN Express Antofagasta, Arica, Balmaceda, Calama, Concepción, Copiapó, Iquique, La Serena, Osorno, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Temuco, Valdivia D, I LAN Perú Lima I PAL Airlines Antofagasta, Arica, Calama, Copiapó, Iquique D PLUNA Montevideo I Qantas Sydney [begins March 26, 2012][9][10] I Sky Airline Antofagasta, Arequipa, Arica, Balmaceda, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Calama, Concepción, Copiapó, El Salvador, Iquique, La Paz, La Serena, Lima, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Temuco D, I TACA Peru Lima I TAM Airlines São Paulo-Guarulhos I TAM Asunción I Top destinations
Busiest International Routes to and from SCL [2010][11] Rank City Passengers Carriers 1 Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ezeiza and Aeroparque Airports)
1,031,359 Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Canada, GOL Airlines, LAN Argentina, LAN Airlines, LAN Ecuador, Sky Airlines. 2 São Paulo-Guarulhos, Brazil
595,246 GOL Airlines, LAN Airlines, TAM Airlines. 3 Lima, Peru
479,046 Lacsa, LAN Airlines, LAN Perú, Sky Airline, TACA Perú. 4 Madrid, Spain
328,377 Iberia, LAN Airlines 5 Miami, FL, USA
276,372 American Airlines, LAN Airlines. 6 Mendoza, Argentina
217,282 Aerolíneas Argentinas, LAN Airlines 7 Montevideo, Uruguay
213,154 Pluna, LAN Airlines. 8 Panama City, Panama
163,491 COPA Airlines. 9 Mexico City, Mexico
154,235 AeroMéxico, LAN Airlines. 10 Paris-Charles de Gaulle, France
137,908 Air France. 11 Bogotá, Colombia
134,495 Avianca, LAN Airlines 12 Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Brazil
127,329 GOL Airlines, LAN Airlines, TAM. 13 Dallas, TX, USA
109,508 American Airlines 14 Córdoba, Argentina
104,631 LAN Airlines 15 Atlanta, GA, USA
101,935 Delta Airlines 16 New York-JFK, NY, USA
92,366 LAN Airlines 17 Auckland, New Zealand
73,027 LAN Airlines 18 Toronto-Pearson, Canada
70,071 Air Canada. 19 Sydney, NSW, Australia
61,991 LAN Airlines 20 Los Angeles, CA, USA
60,657 LAN Airlines Busiest Domestic Routes to and from SCL [2009][11] Rank City Passengers 1 Antofagasta
954,931 2 Iquique
637,601 3 Concepción
627,015 4 Calama
588,140 5 Puerto Montt
510,130 6 Punta Arenas
368,985 7 La Serena
306,215 8 Temuco
305,862 9 Arica
279,175 10 Copiapó
244,423 11 Balmaceda
142,174 12 Easter Island
121,073 13 Los Ríos, Chile Valdivia 104,650 14 Osorno
99,296 Cargo terminal
Ground transportation
Roads
Arturo Merino Benitez is about 17 kilometres (11 mi) by car from Santiago's city centre. The airport is well served by the 6-lane expressway Costanera Norte, which crosses through the city from West to East bordering the Mapocho river, while it is also well connected to the West, North and North-East of Santiago by the Vespucio Norte Express Ring motorway (Exit number 18).
Taxi
There are 2 official airport taxi services: Taxi Oficial and Taxi Vip, which can be contacted at their desks after the Baggage claim area.
Bus
Centropuerto buses connect the Airport with Los Héroes Station of Santiago Metro. Their frequency is every 10 minutes during weekdays and 15 minutes during weekends.
Accidents and incidents
No airline disasters have occurred at the site. However 3 flights with final destination SCL crashed en route:
- On April 28, 1969 LAN Chile Flight 160, a Boeing 727 arriving from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ministro Pistarini International Airport, crashed short of runway, 24 km North of Colina, Chile (50 km. North of Arturo Merino Benítez Airport). None of the 60 passengers and crew were injured in the accident, but the aircraft was written off.
- On October 13, 1972 a Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 chartered by a Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Chilean Andes while en route to SCL. Of the 40 passengers and 5 crew members, 16 were found alive 72 days after the accident.
- On October 2, 1996, flight 603, an AeroPerú Boeing 757 flying the Miami-Lima-Santiago route crashed into the Pacific Ocean some minutes after its take off from Lima, Perú's Jorge Chávez International Airport, killing all on board.
In addition, during the late 1960s and 1970s, Latin America's political turmoil affected safety in air transportation:
- On July 4, 1973, an Aerolíneas Argentinas Boeing 737-200 registration LV-JTO, with 77 passengers on board, departed from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was hijacked soon after its take off by a member of the ERP (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo - In English: People's Revolutionary Army). The aircraft was forced to land at Mendoza's El Plumerillo International Airport, flying subsequently to Santiago, where 49 passegeners were freed. The flight continued to Lima, Perú, where other 6 hostages were released. The aircraft finally landed in Havana, Cuba, where the hijacker asked for political asylum.
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Reuters earthquake report". Reuters. February 27, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61Q0S920100227. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
- ^ (French) Business Travel, "Aéroport de Santiago au Chili: retour à la normale mercredi", 2 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2010)
- ^ http://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2011-06-06-03.aspx
- ^ http://www.aircargoworld.com/ACE
- ^ http://diario.elmercurio.cl/detalle/index.asp?id={c1deb637-fd84-471f-b3fc-c154b8b365c6}
- ^ http://diario.elmercurio.cl/detalle/index.asp?id={0fe29bf8-6d60-4552-b88e-0afdebf3b12b}
- ^ "Shopping and services". Aeropuerto de Santiago. http://www.aeropuertosantiago.cl/english//shopping/index.php. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
- ^ John Walton (30 September 2011). "Qantas flights move from Buenos Aires to Santiago in March 2012". http://www.ausbt.com.au/qantas-flights-move-from-buenos-aires-to-santiago-in-march. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ^ Savour Chile with new flights to Santiago
- ^ a b http://www.jac-chile.cl/OpenSupport_EstadisticasVuelo/asp/pagDefault.asp?arginstanciaID=48
External links
- Official web site (English)
- Airport information for SCEL at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
Chilean aviation Bodies People Places Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport · El Loa International Airport · Chacalluta International AirportCategories:- Airports in Chile
- Transport in Santiago
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