Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport

Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport
IATA: SCL – ICAO: SCEL
Summary
Airport type	Public and Military
Operator	Nuevo Pudahuel
Serves	Santiago
Location	Pudahuel, Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile
Hub for	LATAM Sky Airline One Airlines Aerocardal
Focus city for	Aerolíneas Argentinas
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
Map
SCL Location of airport in Chile
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 17R/35L 3,800 12,467 Asphalt 17L/35R 3,748 12,298 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passenger Numbers 17.251.406 ILS Category/Runway CAT II & IIIb / 17L[1]
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 airport in 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 ninth busiest airport in Latin America and the sixth busiest in South America by passenger traffic. It was the seventh busiest airport in Latin America by aircraft movements, serving 124,799 operations.^[2] 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 LATAM and Sky Airline. LATAM Airlines accounts for approximately 82% of the airport's total commercial operations.^[3]

The airport is owned by the Chilean government and has been operated since October 2015 by Nuevo Pudahuel, a consortium of companies formed by Aéroports de Paris (France), Vinci (France) and Astaldi (Italy). 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.

Santiago International is the longest non-stop destination for most European carriers including Iberia, Air France, Alitalia and British Airways from their respective hubs in Madrid-Barajas Airport, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rome-Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport and London-Heathrow Airport.

The airport is also South America's main gateway to Australia and New Zealand. 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.

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 LATAM Chile.

1994 expansion

The facility was expanded in 1994 with a new international terminal that covered 90,000 square meters, inspired by the architecture of Marseille Provence Airport in 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 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 of April 2014, 71% of international and 75% of domestic passengers were 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]

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.

2020 Master plan and expansion

In 2008, the airport terminal reached its maximum design capacity of 9.5 million annual passengers, two 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, two years prior to the end of the contract with the current operator.

The ministry decided to investigate a 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 master plan took into account a capacity growth to 14 million annual passengers by 2014, 34 million by year 2034 and 50 million passengers by 2045. 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 were considered.^[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 sq m 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]

Passenger terminal

View of the Domestic Terminal

SCL's Domestic Terminal

The terminal building has four levels:

• Ground floor: Arrivals, duty-free shop, baggage claim, customs and border control, transport services, parking areas, hotel access.
• First floor: Administrative offices, VIP lounges (access through the second floor).
• Second Floor: Departures, check-in areas, border control police, duty-free shops, restaurants, boarding halls and gates.
• Third Floor: Restaurants and VIP check-in areas (LATAM).

The terminal building hosts the following services: bank office, Chilean Automobile Club, telecommunication companies (Claro, Movistar and Entel PCS), pharmacy, travel agencies, insurance offices and a police station (Carabineros de Chile).

Shopping

The Santiago International Airport has four tax-free shops. 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, jewellery, Chilean handcrafts and wine shops, music and accessories among others, are available in more than 70 stores.

Restaurants

Santiago Airport has 21 restaurants, coffee shops and bars, located in the public area and in the national and international departing lounges.

VIP lounges

In the international terminal, the operators are:

• LATAM Airlines Lounge: Located on 4th & 5th floor. Access after passport control. Access for LATAM's Premium Business Class travellers, LATAM Pass or LATAM Fidelidade Platinum, Black and Black Signature frequent flyers, as well as Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald tier status members.
• American Airlines Admirals Club: Located next to boarding gate 19. O Access for Admirals Club members, AAdvantage Platinum & Executive Platinum elite frequent flyers, AA International Premium Class, Oneworld First and Business Class passengers, as well as Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald tier status members.
• Delta Air Lines Sky Club: Located next to boarding gate 17. Access for Delta Sky Club Members, Delta's passengers travelling in the Delta One cabin or on SkyTeam alliance Premium cabin and SkyTeam Elite Plus tier status members.
• Avianca Sala VIP: Located by gate 12B (one floor below departures level).
• Pacific Club (Priority Pass)

Hotels

• Holiday Inn Hotels finished the construction of a five-floor building in July 2007, internally connected to both terminals (international and domestic). The hotel has 112 rooms, restaurants, bars, room-service, a conference hall for 170 people, gym, covered swimming pool, spa and wi-fi internet access.
• Hotel Diego de Almagro is located 2km outside the airport area.
• The Hilton Garden Inn Santiago Airport Hotel is located 2.8km from the Santiago international airport within the ENEA, one of the largest business complex in Santiago de Chile which hosts offices, industry and entertainment. The hotel has 144 rooms, a fitness center, indoor swimming pool, sauna, seven meeting spaces including a ballroom and business center.

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

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza	International
Aerolíneas Argentinas operated by Austral Líneas Aéreas	Buenos Aires–Aeroparque	International
Aeroméxico	Mexico City	International
Air Canada	Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Toronto–Pearson	International
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle	International
Alitalia	Rome–Fiumicino	International
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami	International
Avianca	Bogotá	International
Avianca Costa Rica	Lima	International
British Airways	London–Heathrow (begins 4 January 2017)[13]	International
Copa Airlines	Panama City–Tocumen	International
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta	International
Gol Transportes Aéreos	São Paulo–Guarulhos Seasonal: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão	International
Iberia	Madrid	International
KLM	Amsterdam, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza	International
LATAM Brasil	Lima,[14] Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, São Paulo–Guarulhos	International
LATAM Chile	Auckland, Bogotá, Buenos Aires–Aeroparque, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Cancún, Córdoba, Frankfurt, Guayaquil, La Paz, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mendoza, Mexico City, Miami, Montevideo, New York–JFK, Papeete, Punta Cana, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Stanley–Mount Pleasant, Sydney Seasonal: Florianópolis, Orlando (begins 4 January 2017),[15] Punta Del Este, Salta, San Juan (AR)	International
LATAM Chile	Antofagasta, Arica, Calama, Castro, Concepción, Copiapó, Coyhaique, Easter Island, Iquique, La Serena, Osorno, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Temuco, Valdivia Seasonal:Puerto Natales (begins 8 December 2016)[16]	Domestic
LATAM Ecuador	Guayaquil	International
LATAM Paraguay	Asunción	International
LATAM Perú	Lima, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza	International
Latin American Wings operated by Chilejet	Charter: Punta Cana	International
Qantas	Sydney	International
Sky Airline	Antofagasta, Arica, Balmaceda, Calama, Concepción, Copiapó, Coyhaique, Iquique, La Serena, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Temuco, Valdivia Seasonal: Puerto Natales (begins 20 December 2016)[17]	Domestic
Sky Airline	Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Córdoba,[18] Lima, Mendoza (begins 7 January 2017),[19] Montevideo	International
United Airlines	Houston–Intercontinental	International

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Atlas Air	Miami
Avianca Cargo	Bogotá
Cargolux	Aguadilla, Luxembourg
Centurion Air Cargo	Miami
China Cargo Airlines	Los Angeles
Korean Air Cargo	Seoul-Incheon
LATAM Cargo Chile	Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Campinas Viracopos, Miami
Martinair	Aguadilla, Amsterdam, Bogotá, Guayaquil, Miami, Quito
UPS Airlines	Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Campinas Viracopos

Statistics

Santiago domestic nonstop routes (as of July 2015).

Santiago international nonstop routes (as of July 2015).

Busiest international routes (2015)^[20]

Rank	City	Passengers	Airlines
1	Buenos Aires, Argentina (Ezeiza and Aeroparque Airports)	1,482,397	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Canada, LATAM, Sky Airline, KLM
2	São Paulo–Guarulhos, Brazil	1,186,444	LATAM, Sky Airline, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes
3	Lima, Peru	1,108,346	Lasca, LATAM, Sky Airline, TACA Perú
4	Bogotá, Colombia	475,786	Avianca, LATAM
5	Miami, FL, USA	462,729	American Airlines, LATAM
6	Madrid, Spain	412,638	Iberia, LATAM[21]
7	Panama City, Panama	411,198	Copa Airlines
8	Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, Brazil	300,572	LATAM
9	Mendoza, Argentina	236,039	LATAM
10	Mexico City, Mexico	218,648	AeroMéxico, LATAM
11	Montevideo, Uruguay	215,211	LATAM
12	Paris-Charles de Gaulle, France	209,192	Air France
13	Sydney, Australia	181,214	Qantas, LATAM
14	New York-JFK, NY, USA	177,502	LATAM
15	Córdoba, Argentina	133,857	LATAM
16	Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, USA	127,886	American Airlines
17	Atlanta, GA, USA	125,194	Delta Air Lines
18	Houston, TX, USA	107,761	United Airlines
19	Auckland, New Zealand	93,173	LATAM
20	Guayaquil, Ecuador	87,216	LATAM
21	Toronto-Pearson, Canada	69,498	Air Canada
22	Los Angeles, CA, USA	60,636	LATAM
23	La Paz, Bolivia	60,352	LATAM
24	Asuncion, Paraguay	45,082	LATAM
25	Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru	30,984	LATAM

Busiest domestic routes [2015]^[20]

Rank	City	Passengers	Airlines
1	Antofagasta	1,708,242	LATAM, Sky Airline, Aerovías DAP
2	Calama	1,315,248	LATAM, Sky Airline
3	Iquique	963,976	LATAM, Sky Airline
4	Concepción	894,157	LATAM, Sky Airline
5	Puerto Montt	865,569	LATAM, Sky Airline
6	Temuco	575,213	LATAM, Sky Airline
7	Punta Arenas	561,751	LATAM, Sky Airline, Aerovías DAP
8	La Serena	555,042	LATAM, Sky Airline
9	Arica	525,963	LATAM, Sky Airline
10	Copiapó	425,566	LATAM, Sky Airline
11	Balmaceda	230,145	LATAM, Sky Airline
12	Easter Island	188,991	LATAM
13	Valdivia	122,153	LATAM, Sky Airline
14	Osorno	59,327	LATAM
15	Castro	52,917	LATAM

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. TransVip shuttle services reach most of Santiago's hotels, business and residential districts.

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. Turbus offers a similar service to its Alameda terminal. Both these services stop at the Pajaritos metro station/bus terminal on the way.

Rental services

Car rental services are available from the airport.^[22]

Accidents and incidents

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

• On April 28, 1969 LAN Chile Flight 160, a Boeing 727 arriving from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ministro Pistarini International Airport, crashed short of runway, 24 km North of Colina, Chile (50 km. North of Arturo Merino Benítez Airport). None of the 60 passengers and crew were injured in the accident, but the aircraft was written off.
• On October 13, 1972 a 1972 Andes flight disaster chartered by a Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Chilean Andes while en route to SCL. Of the 40 passengers and 5 crew members, 16 were found alive 72 days after the accident.
• On July 4, 1973, an Aerolíneas Argentinas Boeing 737-200 registration LV-JTO, with 77 passengers on board, departed from Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was hijacked soon after takeoff by a member of the ERP (Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo - In English: People's Revolutionary Army). The aircraft was forced to land at Mendoza's El Plumerillo International Airport and then flew subsequently to Santiago, where 49 passengers were freed. The flight continued to Lima, Perú, where another six hostages were released. The aircraft finally landed in Havana, Cuba, where the hijacker asked for political asylum.
• On October 2, 1996, AeroPeru Flight 603, a Boeing 757 flying the Miami-Lima-Santiago route crashed into the Pacific Ocean some minutes after its take off from Lima Jorge Chávez International Airport, killing all on board. The cause of the accident was a maintenance worker's failure to remove tape covering the static ports necessary to provide correct instrument data to the cockpit while flying.
• On September 2, 2011, a Chilean Air Force CASA C-212 Aviocar with 18 passengers and 3 crew members took off from Arturo Merino Benitez Airport and crashed into the sea off Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile, killing all on board. The aircraft was operating a relief flight in support of operations in the wake of the 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami. Notable members of Televisión Nacional de Chile (National Broadcasting of Chile) such as presenter Felipe Camiroaga, journalist Roberto Bruce and philanthropist Felipe Cubillos died in the accident.
• On August 13, 2014 at 06:20 local time, eight masked gunmen dressed as ground personnel robbed a security van at the cargo area of the airport, stealing 6 billion Chilean pesos (USD 10.6 Million) in cash that was being transported by plane to banks in the Northern Chile. This robbery was the largest theft of cash in Chilean history.^[23]

References

1. https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/afs/afs400/afs410/status_lists/media/Foreign_CAT_II_III_Pub.xlsx
2. Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil. DGAC (2013-07-15). Retrieved on 2013-08-09.
3. AEROPUERTO INTERNACIONAL DE SANTIAGO - 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. "VINCI : Aeroports de Paris, VINCI Airports and Astaldi presented the best offer for the Santiago de Chile International Airport concession". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
12. "Shopping and services". Aeropuerto de Santiago. Retrieved 4 November 2010.
13. "British Airways Resumes Chile Service from January 2017". routesonline. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
14. "LATAM Brasil adds Lima – Santiago service in NW16". routesonline. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
15. http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/268610/latam-chile-resumes-orlando-seasonal-service-in-1q17/
16. http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/268183/latam-airlines-chile-adds-new-domestic-routes-in-16q4/
17. "Sky Airline Adds New Domestic Routes in NW16". routesonline. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
18. https://www.df.cl/noticias/empresas/actualidad/sky-abre-nueva-ruta-santiago-cordoba-en-modalidad-low-cost/2016-04-28/085805.html
19. http://www.losandes.com.ar/article/sky-airlines-desembarca-en-mendoza-con-una-superoferta-para-viajar-a-chile-923163
20. Archived September 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
21. http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1113582476715&pagename=Estadisticas%2FEstadisticas
22. "LetsGoChile > » Car Rental in Chile". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
23. "Chile fires airport security chief after huge robbery". BBC News. Retrieved 4 June 2015.

External links

Media related to Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official web site (English)
• Airport information for SCEL at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.