Mariscal Sucre International Airport

"Mariscal Sucre Airport" and "UIO" redirect here. For the old airport it replaced, see Old Mariscal Sucre International Airport. For other uses, see UIO (disambiguation).

Mariscal Sucre International Airport^[3] (IATA: UIO, ICAO: SEQM) is an international airport serving Quito, Ecuador. It is the busiest airport in Ecuador. It is located in the Tababela parish, about 18 kilometres (11 mi)^[4] east of Quito, and because of its location it is also colloquially known as Tababela Airport. The airport currently serves as the main hub for Avianca Ecuador and the largest hub for LATAM Ecuador. It also served as the main hub for TAME, Ecuador's flag-carrier, before the airline was liquidated by the Ecuadorian government in 2020.^[5] The airport opened in February 2013 and replaced the 53-year old airport of the same name.^[6] The airport is named after independence leader Antonio José de Sucre. It was the first 5-star airport in the Western Hemisphere as rated by Skytrax.^[7][8][9]

Mariscal Sucre International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre
IATA: UIO ICAO: SEQM
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Quiport,[1] CORPAQ[2]
Serves	Quito
Location	Tababela, Quito Canton, Pichincha, Ecuador
Opened	February 20, 2013; 12 years ago (2013-02-20)
Hub for	Avianca Ecuador LATAM Ecuador
Focus city for	Avianca
Elevation AMSL	2,400 m / 7,874 ft
Coordinates	0°06′48″S 78°21′31″W
Website	www.aeropuertoquito.com www.aeropuertoquito.aero
Map
UIO/SEQM Location of airport in Ecuador
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 18/36 4,100 13,451 Pavement
Statistics (2022)
Passenger movements 4,300,000

The new Mariscal Sucre Int'l Airport covers 1,500 hectares (3,707 acres) which is ten times larger than the airport it replaced.^[10]

Location

The new Quito International Airport is located on the Oyambaro plain near the town of Tababela, about 18 kilometers (11 mi) east of Quito, Ecuador. The location was chosen in order to expand the capacity of the city's airport.

The old airport posed enormous risks because it was located in the middle of a mountainous city with high wind currents. It could no longer be expanded to accommodate larger aircraft or increased air traffic, and had been the scene of numerous incidents and crashes during the latter years of its operation.^[11][12]

History

A loading zone outside the airport

Check-in and departures area

Arrivals area

Departures screen

Boarding gates

TAME Embraer 190

Avianca Airbus A320

View from the international terminal

KLM flies daily to Quito and Guayaquil using the Boeing 777

Construction began in 2006.^[13] A re-negotiation of the financing contract for the airport was signed on 9 August 2010.^[14]

As part of final certification steps for the airport, Quito's mayor Augusto Barrera and around 100 other passengers left an early morning flight from nearby Mariscal Sucre International Airport on an American Airlines Boeing 757 on July 2, 2012.

The inaugural flight allowed officials to test the performance of check-in counters and other systems. The flight lasted nine minutes and the plane was met by a water cannon salute at the new airport. ^{[citation needed]}

The official inauguration was postponed from October 2012, citing the progress of improvements to various access routes, the holiday season, and other factors. The new airport commenced operations on 20 February 2013 following the closure of the old airport the night before. The first flights scheduled to arrive at the new airport were TAME flight 302 from Guayaquil (domestic), and LAN flight 2590 from Lima, Peru (international). Arrival times were scheduled for 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. respectively.^[15]

Airlines and destinations

Iberia Airbus A340-600 aircraft on its inaugural flight to Quito - Mariscal Sucre International Airport from Barajas on the 28th of October, 2013. Was the first transatlantic flight of the airport linked to Europe, celebrated with the traditional water cannon salute.

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroregional	Coca, Cuenca, Lima,[16] Loja, Machala, Manta, Panama City–Balboa
Air Europa	Madrid
American Airlines	Miami
Arajet	Punta Cana[17]
Avianca	Bogotá
Avianca Costa Rica	Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, San José (CR)
Avianca Ecuador	Baltra, Bogotá, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Cuenca, Guayaquil, Manta, Medellín–JMC, New York–JFK, Punta Cana,[18] San Cristóbal
Avianca El Salvador	San Salvador
Copa Airlines	Panama City–Tocumen
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta
Iberia	Madrid
JetSmart Perú	Lima[19]
KLM	Amsterdam1
LATAM Colombia	Bogotá
LATAM Ecuador	Bogotá, Coca, Cuenca, Guayaquil, Manta, Miami, San Cristóbal
LATAM Perú	Lima
United Airlines	Houston–Intercontinental

Notes:

• ¹: KLM's flight from Quito to Amsterdam makes a stop in Guayaquil.

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Aerosucre	Bogota
Air Canada Cargo	Miami, Montréal–Trudeau,[20] Toronto–Pearson[21]
Atlas Air[22]	Campinas, Manaus, Mexico City–AIFA, Miami, New York–JFK, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Avianca Cargo	Bogotá, Medellín–JMC, Miami
Cargolux	Bogotá, Luxembourg
DHL Ecuador	Guayaquil
Emirates SkyCargo	Aguadilla, Miami
Ethiopian Airlines Cargo	Addis Ababa, Bogotá, Chongqing,[23] Miami
FedEx Express	Memphis
LATAM Cargo Chile	Santiago de Chile
Martinair	Amsterdam
Qatar Airways Cargo	Doha, Liège, Miami
UPS Airlines	Miami

Statistics

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic at UIO airport. See Wikidata query.

Passenger statistics

Year	Total passengers	Cargo (TM)
2001	400,900
2002	577,800	9,990.10
2003	609,900	10,000.80
2004	795,600	21,590.55
2005	825,300	26,556.20
2006	955,500	30,010.50
2007	1,771,859	35,256.40
2008	2,569,800	40,123.65
2009	3,000,560	40,996.60
2010	4,026,521	50,023.65
2011	5,000,500	70,785.09
2012	5,120,000	164,412.03
2013	5,421,106	215,036.88
2014	5,574,019	300,090.90
2015	5,376,544	301,400.10
2016	4,852,530	303,460.90
2017	4,875,166	312,112.90
2018	5,158,103	-
2019	5,037,650	-
2020	683,629	-
2021	1,198,780	-
2022	4,300,000	-

Top destinations

Busiest international routes (roundtrip) out of Mariscal Sucre International Airport (2020)^[24]

Rank	Change	City	Passengers	% Change	Top carriers
1		Panama City, Panama	103.710	-74,73%	Copa Airlines
2		Bogotá, Colombia	92.107	-76,28%	Avianca, Avianca Ecuador, Wingo
3	1	Madrid, Spain	85.815	-66,32%	Air Europa, Iberia, Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas
4	1	Miami, United States	81.952	-61,61%	American Airlines
5	2	Lima, Peru	53.609	-79,45%	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador
6		Mexico City, Mexico	53.410	-64,39%	Aeroméxico, Interjet
7	3	Houston, United States	42.897	-49,39%	United Airlines
8	1	Amsterdam, Netherlands	33.243	-67,22%	KLM
9	1	Fort Lauderdale, United States	32.166	-72,85%	JetBlue Airways
10	3	Atlanta, United States	28.250	-77,99%	Delta Air Lines

Busiest domestic routes from Mariscal Sucre International Airport (2020)^[24]

Rank	Change	City	Passengers	% Change	Top carriers
1		Guayaquil, Guayas	411.923	-69,72%	Aeroregional, Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
2		Cuenca, Azuay	113.817	-69,04%	Aeroregional, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
3		Baltra Island, Galápagos Islands	74.295	-73,07%	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
4		Manta, Manabí	42.532	-72,39%	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
5		Loja, Loja	41.188	-62,47%	Aeroregional, TAME
6		El Coca, Orellana	33.703	-68,03%	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
7		San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands	22.219	-72,04%	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, TAME
8	1	Machala, El Oro	9.143	-78,75%	TAME
9	1	Lago Agrio, Sucumbíos	6.502	-85,41%	TAME
10		Esmeraldas, Esmeraldas	4.527	-88,44%	TAME

See also

• Transport in Ecuador
• List of airports in Ecuador

Notes