Back Antiguu Aeropuertu Internacional Mariscal Sucre AST Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre (1960) German Antiguo Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre Spanish فرودگاه بینالمللی ماریسکال سوکره Persian Entinen Mariscal Sucren kansainvälinen lentoasema Finnish Aéroport international Mariscal Sucre (1960-2013) French Mariscal Sucre nemzetközi repülőtér Hungarian Bandar Udara Internasional Mariscal Sucre ID Aeroporto Internazionale Mariscal Sucre (1960) Italian マリスカル・スクレ国際空港 (1960年) Japanese
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Mariscal Sucre International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Defunct | ||||||||||
| Operator | Corporación Quiport S.A. | ||||||||||
| Serves | |||||||||||
| Location | Chaupicruz, Quito Canton, Pichincha, Ecuador | ||||||||||
| Opened | August 5, 1960 | ||||||||||
| Closed | February 19, 2013 | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 9,228 ft / 2,813 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 00°08′28″S 078°29′17″W / 0.14111°S 78.48806°W | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  UIO Location within Ecuador | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2011) | |||||||||||
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Mariscal Sucre International Airport (IATA: UIO, ICAO: SEQU) was the main international airport that served Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador. It was the busiest airport in Ecuador by passenger traffic, by aircraft movement and by cargo movement, and one of the busiest airports in South America. It was named after Venezuelan-born Antonio José de Sucre, a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence. It began operations on August 5, 1960, and during its last years of operation, handled about 6.2 million passengers and 164,000 metric tons of freight per year. The airport, one of the highest in the world (at 2,800 metres or 9,200 feet AMSL) was located in the northern part of the city, in the Chaupicruz parish, within five minutes of Quito's financial center; the terminals were located at the intersection of Amazonas and La Prensa avenues. Mariscal Sucre International was the largest hub for TAME with an average of 50 daily departures.
The old Mariscal Sucre International Airport ceased all operations at 19:00 on February 19, 2013, following the departure of TAME flight 321 to Guayaquil (scheduled for 18:55). Iberia operated the final international departure from the airport. On the morning of February 20, 2013, all operations moved to the new airport of the same name. The first domestic flights scheduled to arrive at the new airport were TAME Flight 302 originating in Guayaquil, and LAN Flight 2590 originating in Lima, Peru. The new airport is located in the Tababela parish, about 18 kilometres (11 mi) to the east of the city. It was constructed by a private consortium.[3]
The former airport is now the site of Parque Bicentenario, the biggest urban park in Quito.
Due to its location in the middle of a city surrounded by mountains, the old airport could no longer be expanded to accommodate any larger aircraft or an increase in air traffic. Its operation posed risks; several serious accidents and incidents had occurred in years prior to its closure.[4][5]
- ^ Airport information for SEQU[usurped] from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
- ^ Airport information for UIO at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- ^ "White-Knuckle Quito Airport To Close". Flying. 31 January 2013.
- ^ Report Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine on the conditions of the current airport and the benefits of a new airport (Inter-American Development Bank)
- ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev 154M CU-T1264 Quito-Mariscal Sucre Airport (UIO)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. 13 November 2005. Retrieved 8 April 2009.