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Jorge Chavez International Airport
Jorge Chavez International Airport , known as Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez in Spanish, is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, 11 kilometers from the Historic Centre of Lima and 17 km from Miraflores. Callao is the port city now fully integrated with Lima, the nation's capital. In 2008, the airport handled 8,288,506 passengers and 98,733 aircraft movements. In 2009, the airport handled 8,786,973 passengers which, although small, was one of the fastest increases in the Americas.
For many years it was the hub for now defunct Aeroperu and Compania de Aviacion Faucett, one of the oldest airlines in Latin America. Now it serves as a hub for many aviation companies.
History
The first airport of Lima was the Limatambo Airport, located in San Isidro, which ceased operations in 1960 due to lack of space and capacity to handle the increasing flights. In that same year, the Lima-Callao International Airport began to operate in Callao. In June 1965, the airport was renamed as "Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chavez" after French Peruvian aviator Jorge Chavez Dartnell and in December 1965, the current terminal building was inaugurated.
Over time, the airport showed signals of decay, lack of space for passengers and outdated technology in radar and safety. In 2001, in order to improve and expand its infrastructure, the airport was concessioned by the Peruvian government to Lima Airport Partners (LAP), now composed of Fraport and two other minor partners, retaining the air traffic control managed by the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC).
In February 2005, the first phase of the renovation and expansion project was completed, including the Peru Plaza Commercial Center and the new concourse. In June 2007 a four-star hotel was opened in front of the terminal. In January 2009, the second phase of the terminal expansion was inaugurated. Now the terminal has 28 gates, 19 of them with boarding bridges. In August 2009, Jorge Chavez International Airport announced that they should receive a new ILS CAT III in 2010 to help with fog landings in Lima. The construction of a second runway is another very important project to be completed in 2014.
Twenty-three airlines operate out of Jorge Chavez International Airport.
Jorge Chavez International Airport was awarded the title of best airport in South America by Skytrax World Airports Awards in years 2005 and 2009, and it came in second place in the 2008 survey.
Transportation
Transportation between the airport and city is provided by taxis, tour buses and vans. For security reasons, visitors are recommended to take only those taxis offered by registered companies at the airport arrivals area.
Airlines and destinations
A total of 21 passenger airlines and 22 cargo airlines offer destinations to 54 domestic and international destinations to North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. When the next phase of the airport expansion is complete, the airport will be ready to serve from eighty to ninety airlines around the world.
Cargo Airlines
ABSA
Air France Cargo
Arrow Air
Atlas Air
Centurion Air Cargo
Cielos Airlines
DHL
FedEx
Florida West International Airways
Iberia Cargo
KLM Cargo
LAN Cargo
Martinair Cargo
MasAir
Southern Air
Tampa Cargo
UPS
Cargo Operations
The Jorge Chavez International Airport is home to the main base for the cargo industry in South America. Next to the airport is the Lima Cargo City, a hub for all cargo airlines to transport goods to being imported or exported. The 35 million dollar project was completed and began operations on May 12, 2009. A 380 meter tunnel joins the building to the airport, while an additional building is used to organize and secure the operations coming from eighteen airlines and destinations to all continents. The hub is big enought to hold up to forty airplanes at the same time.
External links
Official Website in English and Spanish.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Jorge Chavez International Airport
