José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport

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José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo

IATA: GYE – ICAO: SEGY
Summary
Airport type		Public
Location		Guayaquil
Elevation AMSL		19 ft / 6 m
Coordinates		02°09′27″S 79°53′01″W / -2.1575, -79.88361
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	m	ft	Surface
03/21	2,790	9,154	Asphalt

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport, formerly called Simón Bolívar International Airport (IATA: GYE, ICAO: SEGY) (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional José Joaquín de Olmedo) is an airport in Guayaquil, Ecuador, named after José Joaquín de Olmedo, a notable Ecuadorian poet.

The airport, which has the newest terminal in Ecuador, was renamed after José Joaquín de Olmedo in 2006, in preparation for the inauguration of the new 50,000 sq. meter national and international terminal on July 27, 2006. The airport's ICAO code was also changed, from the former SEGU to the new SEGY.^[1] Although there was an inaugural flight on July 28, 2006, most airlines did not operate completely from the new terminal until August 13, 2006. After that date, the old terminal was closed, and work is to begin during the last quarter of 2006 to turn it into a convention center. There are also plans to build a hotel next to the new terminal.

The construction of the new terminal and expansion of the runway was finally decided in 2003-2004, years after making the decision that the current infrastructure was not sufficient to cover the city's needs, but that it was not yet commercially viable to build an entirely new airport in the Daule area.

The original project in 2003-2004 contemplated the construction of a 28,000 sq. meter international terminal and the continuing operation of the old terminal, which would be left to handle only domestic flights. However, it was later decided that the new terminal would handle both national and international traffic (hence the larger, 50,000 sq. meter building) , and that the older terminal would be closed. The airport is planned to serve the city of Guayaquil for 10 to 15 years starting in 2006. After this, it is expected to reach capacity (5 million passengers a year), and when this happens a new airport will be built in the Daule area, some 20 kilometers outside the city, near the highway that connects Guayaquil to Salinas and other coastal towns.

The airport is located 5 km north of Guayaquil's centre, on the Avenida de las Américas, and has a runway with a length of 2,790 metres (9,154 ft), an elevation of 5 m (16 ft), and can serve Boeing 747s, DC10s and Lockheed L-1011s. There are plans for expanding the runway in 2006-2007.

The departure tax from José Joaquín de Olmedo is as of 2008 US$27,15 (international), US$4,20 (domestic).

Buses and taxis connect the airport to Guayaquil's city centre.

José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport was named "Best Airport in Latin America 2008" by BussinessWeek Magazine.