Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
Pudahuel Airport
Santiago International Airport

IATA: SCLICAO: SCEL

SCL
Location of airport in Chile

Summary
Airport type Public and Military
Operator SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago
Serves Santiago
Location Pudahuel, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
Hub for
Elevation AMSL 474 m / 1,555 ft
Coordinates 33°23′34″S 70°47′08″W / 33.39278°S 70.78556°WCoordinates: 33°23′34″S 70°47′08″W / 33.39278°S 70.78556°W
Website www.aeropuertosantiago.cl
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
17R/35L 3,800 12,467 Asphalt
17L/35R 3,748 12,298 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passenger Numbers 16,068,098
Passenger Statistics from Junta de Aeronautica Civil de Chile

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez) (IATA: SCL, ICAO: SCEL), also known as Santiago International Airport and Pudahuel 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 domestic and international services to destinations in Europe, Oceania and The Americas. In 2011 it was 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 124,799 operations.[1] It is also the only connecting point for air traffic between Latin America and Oceania. Its location in Chile's most populated area, as well as in the central part of the country makes of it an ideal main hub and maintenance center for most local airlines such as LAN Airlines and Sky Airline. LAN Airlines accounts for approximately 82% of the total airport commercial operations.[2]

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).[3] The Air traffic control is handled by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Chile). Its ICAO category is 4E. 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.

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 intercontinental flights, drove the need to relocate the Chilean capital's principal airport from Los Cerrillos Airport (ICAO: SCTI; IATA: ULC) in the denser southwest metropolitan region of Santiago to the more rural northwest metropolitan area.

Check-in Hall (2007)

Construction of the original terminal building, the eastern 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.

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:

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). As per April 2014, 71% of international and 75% of domestic passengers are carried by Oneworld member airlines.

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.[4][5]

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[6]

In June 2011, Santiago International Airport received the Air Cargo Excellence Award, as the best Latin American Cargo Airport.[7]

Santiago International Airport is the longest non-stop destination for Iberia and Air France flights departing from their respective hubs in Madrid-Barajas Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. The Sydney–Santiago non-stop flight operated by Qantas on a Boeing 747-400ER covers the world's longest over-the-sea distance flown by a commercial airline.

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.

2014 expansion

In 2008, the airport terminal reached its maximum design capacity of 9.5 million annual passengers, 2 years earlier than forecast, and with the repairs needed after the 2010 Chile Earthquake, the Ministry of Public Works announced in 2012 that it would call for proposals 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 investigate 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 cost 4,560 Million Chilean Pesos (USD 9.4 Million) considered in the 2011 Fiscal Budget. For this new master plan, the Government hired the consultancy services of Aéroports de Paris Ingeniérie (ADP-I), the architecture, engineering and technical branch of the French airport corporation.[8]

The expansion took into account a capacity growth to 14 million annual passengers by 2014, 34 Million by year 2034 and 50 Million passengers by 2045. The plan considered 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.[9]

In June 2013, the Chilean Ministry of Public Works started Phase 1 of the airport expansion.[10]

On February 4, 2015, the consortium "Nuevo Pudahuel", formed by French companies Aéroports de Paris (45%), VINCI Airports (40%) and Italian infrastructure company Astaldi (15%) won the bidding process to manage and develop the airport for 20 years since October 1, 2015. The main missions of the new administration will be "the renovation of existing installations with the redesign and extension of the current terminal; the funding, design and construction of a new 175,000 sqm terminal which will increase the airport's capacity to 30 million passengers, with potential for expansion beyond 45 million; the operation and commercial development for the duration of the concession (20 years) of the main infrastructures: existing terminal and new terminals, car parks and future property developments. Building works will be executed by Astaldi (50% of conception-construction pool) and Vinci Construction Grands Projets (50%)".[11]

Amenities

Hotels

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.[12]

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:

Military functions

The airport is the headquarters of the Chilean Air Force II Air Brigade and hosts the 10th Aviation Group facilities. The 10th Aviation Group is in charge of Strategic Air Transportation, the Airborne Early Warning & Control Squadron, medical air transport emergencies and the air transportation of the President of Chile. Some of its units are C-130 Hercules, Boeing 767-300, Boeing 737 Classic, Gulfstream IV, CASA C-212 Aviocar, F-16 Fighting Falcon, AEW&C Condor. The FIDAE, Latin America's most important air show takes place in the 10th Aviation Group facilities.

Airlines and destinations

View of the Domestic Terminal
SCL's Domestic Terminal
Airlines Destinations Terminal
AeroDesierto Calama, La Serena D
Aerolíneas Argentinas
operated by Austral Líneas Aéreas
Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza I
Aerolíneas Argentinas Buenos Aires–Aeroparque 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
Avianca Costa Rica Lima, San José (CR) I
Avianca Peru Lima I
Copa Airlines Panama City I
Delta Air Lines Atlanta I
Gol Transportes Aéreos São Paulo–Guarulhos
Seasonal: Belo Horizonte (begins 4 July 2015), Brasília (begins 4 July 2015), Porto Alegre (begins 3 July 2015), Rio de Janeiro-Galeão (begins 4 July 2015) [14]
I
Iberia Madrid I
KLM Amsterdam, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza I
LAN Airlines Auckland, Bogotá, Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Cancún, Caracas, Córdoba, Frankfurt, Guayaquil, La Paz, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mendoza, Mexico City, Miami, Milan-Malpensa (Begins Late 2015, via GRU),[15] Montevideo, New York–JFK, Papeete, Punta Cana, Quito, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Stanley–Mount Pleasant, Sydney
Seasonal: Florianópolis, Orlando, Punta Del Este, Salta
I
LAN Airlines Antofagasta, Arica, Balmaceda/Coyhaique, Calama, Castro, Concepción, Copiapó, Easter Island, Iquique, La Serena, Osorno, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Temuco, Valdivia D
LAN Argentina Buenos Aires–Ezeiza I
LAN Colombia Bogotá I
LAN Ecuador Guayaquil, Quito I
LAN Perú Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Lima I
Qantas Sydney I
Sky Airline Antofagasta, Arica, Balmaceda, Calama, Concepción, Copiapó, El Salvador, Iquique, La Serena, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Temuco, Valdivia D
Sky Airline Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, La Paz, Lima, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Seasonal:Florianópolis
I
TAM Airlines Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, São Paulo–Guarulhos I
TAM Paraguay Asunción I
United AirlinesHouston–Intercontinental I

Top destinations

Busiest international routes [2014][16]
Rank City Passengers Airlines
1 Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ezeiza and Aeroparque Airports) 1,276,971 Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Canada, LAN Argentina, LAN Airlines, Sky Airline, KLM
2 São Paulo–Guarulhos, Brazil 1,009,448 LAN Airlines, TAM Airlines, Sky Airline, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes
3 Lima, Peru 929,504 Lacsa, LAN Airlines, LAN Perú, Sky Airline, TACA Perú
4 Panama City, Panama 411,895 COPA Airlines
5 Miami, FL, USA 392,600 American Airlines, LAN Airlines
6 Madrid, Spain 376,414 Iberia, LAN Airlines
7 Bogotá, Colombia 363,980 Avianca, LAN Airlines
8 Mendoza, Argentina 263,573 Aerolineas Argentinas, LAN Airlines
9 Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Brazil 259,713 LAN Airlines, TAM
10 Paris-Charles de Gaulle, France 208,375 Air France
11 Montevideo, Uruguay 204,146 LAN Airlines, BQB Líneas Aéreas
12 Mexico City, Mexico 194,348 AeroMéxico, LAN Airlines
13 Sydney, Australia 163,054 Qantas, LAN Airlines
14 Córdoba, Argentina 161,336 LAN Airlines
15 New York-JFK, NY, USA 131,177 LAN Airlines
16 Atlanta, GA, USA 130,754 Delta Air Lines
17 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, USA 120,906 American Airlines
18 Auckland, New Zealand 87,652 Lan Airlines
19 Guayaquil, Ecuador 81,537 LAN Ecuador, LAN Airlines
20 Los Angeles, CA, USA 67,938 LAN Airlines
21 Toronto-Pearson, Canada 66.824 Air Canada
22 La Paz, Bolivia 64.622 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
23 Quito, Ecuador 46.982 LAN Ecuador
24 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 46.463 LAN Airlines
25 Asuncion, Paraguay 45.490 LAN Airlines

Busiest domestic routes [2014][16]
Rank City Passengers Airlines
1 Antofagasta 1,667,795 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline, Aerovías DAP
2 Calama 1,296,650 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
3 Concepción 880,513 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
4 Iquique 872,618 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
5 Puerto Montt 815,803 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
6 Copiapó 531,992 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline,
7 Punta Arenas 525,042 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline, Aerovías DAP
8 La Serena 519,482 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
9 Temuco 503,507 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
10 Arica 465,539 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
11 Balmaceda 203,111 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
12 Easter Island 163,675 LAN Airlines
13 Valdivia 133,333 LAN Airlines, Sky Airline
14 Osorno 76,965 LAN Airlines
15 Castro 55,369 LAN Airlines

Cargo terminal

Airlines Destinations
Cargolux Aguadilla, Luxemburg
Centurion Air Cargo Miami, Lima
IAG Cargo Madrid
LAN Cargo Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Campinas Viracopos, Miami
Martinair Cargo Aguadilla, Amsterdam, Bogotá, Guayaquil, Miami, Quito

Ground transportation

Roads

Costanera Norte Expressway

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 (Exit # 31), 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 # 18).

Taxi and shuttle services

There are 2 official airport taxi services: Taxi Oficial and Taxi Vip, which can be contacted at their desks after the Baggage claim area. TransVip shuttle services reach most of Santiago's hotels, business and residential districts. The average cost for shuttle services is USD$15.

Bus

Buses at the Departures Level

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.

Rental services

Car rental services are available from the airport, the average cost goes from USD$80 per day, the cost could increase depending on the mileage and the city where the drop off will take place.[17]

Accidents and incidents

No airline disasters have occurred at the site. However 3 flights with final destination SCL crashed en route:

References

  1. Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil. DGAC (2013-07-15). Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  2. AEROPUERTO INTERNACIONAL DE SANTIAGO - SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago de Chile. Aeropuertosantiago.cl. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  3. Concesionaria SCL - SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago de Chile. Aeropuertosantiago.cl. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  4. "Reuters earthquake report". Reuters. February 27, 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2010.
  5. (French) Business Travel, "Aéroport de Santiago au Chili: retour à la normale mercredi", 2 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2010)
  6. Announces Eagle Awards. IATA. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  7. Air Cargo Excellence / Home. Air Cargo World. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  8. Portal de Registro y Autentificación El Mercurio. Diario.elmercurio.cl. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  9. Portal de Registro y Autentificación El Mercurio. Diario.elmercurio.cl. Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
  10. . Retrieved on 2013-11-18.
  11. http://www.stockhouse.com/news/press-releases/2015/02/04/vinci-aeroports-de-paris-vinci-airports-and-astaldi-presented-the-best-offer
  12. "Shopping and services". Aeropuerto de Santiago. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
  13. http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/valle/noticias/avianca-obrio-moderna-sala-vip-aeropuerto-alfonso-bonilla-aragon
  14. http://airlineroute.net/2015/04/23/g3-scl-jul15/
  15. http://www.lan.com/en_us/sitio_personas/press/news-and-press-releases/press-releases/latam-airlines-group-plans-new-international-flights-for-2015
  16. 16.0 16.1
  17. Rent a car Santiago
  18. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-28783027

External links