Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Ministro Pistarini International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini
Aerial view of the airport
Main concourse at Terminal A
IATA: EZE – ICAO: SAEZ – WMO: 87576
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Argentine Government (Minister of Federal Planning and Public Utilities)
Operator	Aeropuertos Argentina 2000
Serves	Buenos Aires
Location	Ezeiza, Argentina
Hub for	Aerolíneas Argentinas LATAM Argentina
Elevation AMSL	21 m / 67 ft
Coordinates	34°49′20″S 58°32′09″W / 34.82222°S 58.53583°WCoordinates: 34°49′20″S 58°32′09″W / 34.82222°S 58.53583°W
Website	www.aa2000.com.ar
Map
EZE Location in greater Buenos Aires
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 11/29 3,300 10,828 Asphalt 17/35 3,105 10,187 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Total passengers 9.127.908 [1]
Sources: AIP,[2] ORSNA,[3] WorldAeroData,[4] Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 statistics for 2013[5]

Ministro Pistarini International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Ministro Pistarini) (IATA: EZE, ICAO: SAEZ), known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in the Ezeiza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport 22 kilometres (14 mi) south-southwest of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires,^[2] the capital city of Argentina. It is the country's largest international airport by number of passengers handled—85% of international traffic^[3]—and is a hub for international flights of Aerolíneas Argentinas and LATAM Argentina. Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral Lineas Aereas do operate limited domestic or cabotaje air service from Pistarini Airport as well. Covering 3,475 hectares^[3] (13.42 sq mi; 8,590 acres), the airport serves Buenos Aires and its metropolitan area. It has been operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A. since 1998.^[2][6][7]

Ministro Pistarini Airport was voted "2007 best airport in the region" following a survey carried out by Skytrax.^[8] It dropped to third place in 2010, behind Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and Jorge Chávez International Airport.^[9]

History

The airport was named after the general and politician Juan Pistarini (1882–1956). He, as Minister of Public Works, placed the cornerstone of the project on 22 December 1945.^[10] It was designed and erected by Argentine technicians,^[11] Its construction was one of the major projects in the five-year plan of the first presidency of Juan Perón.^[11] When it opened, it was the third-largest airport in the world.^[12]

The first civil flight from the then new London Heathrow Airport, a BSAA Avro Lancastrian, flew to Ministro Pistarini International Airport in 1946. A 1949 diagram^[13] shows three runways crossing at 60-degree angles: 9,353 ft runway 10/28, 7,220 ft 4/22 and 6,892 ft 16/34. In 1997, RWY 05/23 was closed and it is now used for parking large aircraft (such as the Airbus A340 or Boeing 747).

The Ezeiza massacre took place near the airport in 1973.^[14][15]

Access

The airport is about 22 km from Buenos Aires city. Road access is by the Riccheri Highway. There is no direct rail link between the airport and the city; while there is a railway station in the nearby town of Ezeiza, with local buses connecting the town to the airport, this is not a usual route. Travel between the airport and anywhere in the Buenos Aires region can be undertaken by city taxi, or limousine (remise in Spanish), and there are airport shuttle buses operating a non-stop service between the airport and certain locations in central Buenos Aires. Public transport buses to various destinations are also available.

Operations

Since December 2012, citizens from countries requiring an entry visa for Argentine nationals – including Australia, Canada, and the United States – are charged a "reciprocity fee" to enter Argentina, equivalent to the price the countries charge Argentine citizens for a visa.^[16][17] Until December 2012^[16] the tax was collected, in Argentine pesos or US dollars, at the airport;^[17] since then, the tax must be paid in advance online from the country of origin.^[16]

In October 2012 Ezeiza Airport recorded the highest annual traffic growth of all the airports operated by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000.^[18] For this month, the airport handled 767,824 passengers, a 10.9% increase compared to the previous October; the volume of international and domestic traffic for October 2012 increased 8.7% and 108.3%, respectively, year-on-year.^[19] Overall, 2012 traffic figures for the airport indicated a 7.3% increase over the previous year.^[20] Figures for July 2013 showed that the airport handled 688,397 passengers, an 8.9% decrease over the previous year.^[21]

Airlines and destinations

Terminal B

Terminal C was inaugurated in July 2011;^[22] as of December 2011, its facilities were in use by Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air France, and Alitalia for their operations.^[23][24][25] More SkyTeam members were expected to move their operations to the terminal.^[26] In March 2013 terminal B, with an area of 28,795 square metres (309,950 sq ft), was inaugurated, for use by Aerolíneas Argentinas and KLM.^[27][28]

Qantas withdrew its service to the airport in favour of Santiago de Chile in March 2012;^[29][30][31] flights to Ezeiza Airport had begun in November 2008.^[32] This followed Malaysia Airlines' termination of its Boeing 747-served Kuala Lumpur–Cape Town–Buenos Aires route in early 2012 to cut costs.^[33] South African Airways discontinued its Johannesburg–Buenos Aires service in March 2014.^[29][34]

In June 2010, Qatar Airways launched direct flights between the airport and Doha.^[35][36] After a ten-year gap,^[37] KLM resumed operations at the airport in October 2011.^[38] Emirates launched services to the airport in January 2012,^[39] and Turkish Airlines extended its Istanbul–São Paulo service to end at Ezeiza in December the same year.^[40] Air New Zealand started non-stop flights between the airport and Auckland in December 2015.^[41]

Passenger

Airline operations at the airport

Iberia operates services to Madrid.

As of October 2014, American Airlines links the airport with three destinations in the United States.^[42]

Varig used to have important-standing operations in the airport. Presently, the brand is owned by Gol Transportes Aéreos, and links the airport with a number of Brazilian cities.

An Alitalia Boeing 777-200ER at the airport in 2006.

A British Airways Boeing 777-200ER at the airport.

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal
Aerolíneas Argentinas	Asunción, Bariloche, Barcelona, Bogotá, Cancún, Caracas, Córdoba, El Calafate, Lima, Madrid, Miami, New York–JFK, Porto Alegre, Porto Seguro, Punta Cana, Puerto Iguazú, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Rome–Fiumicino, Salvador da Bahia, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Trelew, Ushuaia Seasonal: Guayaquil, Quito	B, C
Aerolíneas Argentinas operated by Austral Líneas Aéreas	Montevideo, Córdoba, Mendoza, Puerto Iguazú, Rosario, Salta, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru, São Paulo–Guarulhos	B, C
Aeroméxico	Mexico City	A
Air Canada	Santiago de Chile, Toronto–Pearson	A
Air Europa	Madrid	A
Air France	Montevideo, Paris–Charles de Gaulle	B, C
Air New Zealand	Auckland	B, C
Alitalia	Rome–Fiumicino	B, C
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami, New York–JFK	A, B
Avianca	Bogotá	A
Avianca Costa Rica	Lima	A
Avianca Peru	Lima	A
Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras	Belo Horizonte-Confins (begins 1 February 2017)[43]	A
Boliviana de Aviación	Cochabamba, La Paz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru	A
British Airways	London–Heathrow	A
Conviasa	Caracas	A
Copa Airlines	Panama City–Tocumen	A
Cubana de Aviación	Havana, Varadero Seasonal: Cayo Coco	A
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta	C
Emirates	Dubai–International, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão	A
Gol Transportes Aéreos	Belo Horizonte-Confins (begins 6 February 2017),[44] Florianópolis, Fortaleza, Maceió, Natal, Porto Seguro, Recife, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Salvador da Bahia, São Paulo–Guarulhos	A
Iberia	Madrid	A
KLM	Amsterdam, Santiago de Chile	B, C
LATAM Argentina	Lima, Miami, Punta Cana (ends 17 December 2016),[45] São Paulo–Guarulhos	A
LATAM Brasil	Brasília, Bogotá (begins 15 December 2016),[46] Recife, São Paulo–Guarulhos	A
LATAM Chile	New York–JFK, Santiago de Chile	A
LATAM Paraguay	Asunción, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão	A
LATAM Perú	Lima	A
Lufthansa	Frankfurt	A
Qatar Airways	Doha, São Paulo–Guarulhos	A
Sky Airline	Santiago de Chile	A
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul–Atatürk, São Paulo–Guarulhos	A
United Airlines	Houston–Intercontinental	A

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Air Class	Montevideo
Aerovip Cargo	Montevideo, Punta del Este
Atlas Air	Santiago, Miami, Campinas, Lima
Centurion Air Cargo	Miami
Cielos Airlines	Lima
FedEx Express	Campinas, Santiago
Florida West International Airways	Bogotá, Miami
LATAM Cargo Chile	Asunción, Bogotá, Campinas, Frankfurt, Miami, Santiago
LATAM Cargo México	Mexico City
Lufthansa Cargo	Campinas, Dakar, Frankfurt
Martinair	Aguadilla, Amsterdam, Bogotá, London-Stansted
UPS Airlines	Miami, Campinas

Statistics

Traffic by calendar year. Official ACI Statistics

	Passengers	Change from previous year	Aircraft operations	Change from previous year	Cargo (metric tons)	Change from previous year
2005	6,365,989	14.34%	62,048	6.10%	177,358	1.41%
2006	6,867,596	7.88%	63,693	2.65%	187,415	5.67%
2007	7,487,779	9.03%	70,576	10.81%	204,909	9.33%
2008	8,012,794	7.01%	71,037	0.65%	205,506	0.29%
2009	7,910,048	1.28%	67,488	5.00%	162,806	20.78%
2010	8,786,807	11.08%	65,063	3.59%	212,890	30.96%
Source: Airports Council International. World Airport Traffic Statistics (Years 2005-2010)

Busiest international routes from and to Ezeiza (2013)^[47]

Ranking	City	Airline
1	São Paulo, Brazil	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Austral Líneas Aéreas, Gol Linhas Aereas, LAN Argentina, Qatar Airways, TAM Airlines, Tam Paraguay, Turkish Airlines
2	Santiago, Chile	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Canada, Austral Líneas Aéreas, Sky Airline, LAN Airlines, LAN Argentina, KLM
3	Miami, USA	Aerolíneas Argentinas, American Airlines, LAN Argentina
4	Río de Janeiro, Brazil	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Austral Líneas Aéreas, Emirates, Gol Linhas Aereas, TAM Airlines
5	Lima, Peru	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Avianca Perú, LAN Argentina, LAN Perú
6	Madrid, Spain	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Air Europa, Iberia
7	Asunción, Paraguay	Aerolíneas Argentinas, TAM Paraguay
8	Rome, Italy	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Alitalia
9	Porto Alegre, Brazil	Aerolíneas Argentinas, Gol Linhas Aereas
10	New York, USA	Aerolíneas Argentinas, American Airlines

Accidents and incidents

As of August 2011, Aviation Safety Network records 30 accidents/incidents for aircraft that departed from the airport or had it as a destination.^[48] The list below provides a summary of only fatal events that took place at or in the vicinity of the airport.

Accidents involving fatalities

• 23 October 1996: Fuerza Aérea Argentina Flight 5025, a Boeing 707-320C, registration LV-LGP, was operating a cargo service when it struck the ground short of the runway on final approach to Ezeiza inbound from Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, broke up, and burst into flames. Two occupants of the aircraft lost their lives.^[49][50]
• 26 October 2003: CATA Línea Aérea Flight 760, a Fairchild FH-227B, tail number LV-MGV, was operating a nonscheduled Ezeiza–Camba Puntá Airport freighter service when it encountered technical difficulties shortly after takeoff from Ezeiza Airport. The aircraft attempted a belly landing on a nearby golf course. The aircraft skidded some 200 m before hitting a tree and bursting into flames. All five occupants of the aircraft perished in the accident.^[51][52]

See also

• List of airports in Argentina
• Transport in Argentina

References

2. "SAEZ/Ezeiza Ministro Pistarini fact sheet" (in Spanish). AIP. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
3. "Aeropuerto Internacional de Ezeiza "Ministro Pistarini"" [Ezeiza "Ministro Pistarini" International Airport] (in Spanish). Organismo Regulador del Sistema Nacional de Aeropuertos (ORSNA). Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
4. Airport information for Ministro Pistarini Airport at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
5. "Aumento del 4.4 por ciento en el tráfico de pasajeros en 2013" [4.4 per cent increase in passenger traffic for 2013] (Press release) (in Spanish). Aeropuertos Argentina 2000. 14 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2 April 2014.
6. "Argentina Transfers International Airport Today". Business News Americas. 27 May 1998. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
7. Gill, Tom (1 March 1998). "Milan moves in to manage". Flightglobal.com. Airline Business. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
8. "Ezeiza chosen as best airport in the region; Santiago second". MercoPress. 6 September 2007. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
9. "Lima and Santiago airports are Latin America's leaders". MercoPress. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
10. "Vuelo a vuelo, cómo se conquistó el cielo" [Flight by flight, the way the sky was conquered]. La Nación (in Spanish). 17 December 1999. Archived 20 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
11. "Civil aviation news". Flight: 731. 8 December 1949. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Peron's pride: Probably the largest and most modern air terminus in the world, the new "Ministro Pistarini" airport at Buenos Aires is one and a half time as big as London Airport. Covering an area of 19 square miles, it has three runways, one of which is 3,060 yards in length, and is capable of accommodating aircraft up to 150 tons in weight. The airport was designed and built entirely by Argentinian technicians and is one of the major projects in General Peron's five-year plan.
12. "Civil Aviation News...". Flight: 494. 21 October 1948. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013. Work on the new airport at Ezeiza, near Buenos Aires, is nearly completed and, provisionally, it will be in operation at the end of the year. Covering 18,600 acres, it is claimed to be the third largest international airport in the world.
13. American Aviation 1 August 1949 p15
14. Háskel, Guillermo (18 October 2006). "Argentine: Violence mars Perón coffin transfer". MercoPress. Buenos Aires Herald. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
15. Sopeña, Germán (22 June 1998). "Hace 25 años, la masacre de Ezeiza enlutaba a la Argentina" [The Ezeiza massacre mourned Argentina 25 years ago] (in Spanish). La Nación. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012.
16. "El pago online de un impuesto para extranjeros dificulta el ingreso de turistas" (in Spanish). infobae.com. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 March 2013.
17. "Argentina begun enforcing "reciprocity tax" in Ezeiza airport". MercoPress. 29 December 2009. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. All foreign visitors arriving in Argentina's international airport of Ezeiza and who live in countries that charge the Argentines before they enter, will have to pay a reciprocity tax.
18. "Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 reports 13% pax increase in Oct-2012". Centre for Aviation. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
19. "El tráfico de pasajeros aumentó el 9,3 por ciento en los primeros diez meses del año" [Passenger traffic rose 9.3% in the first ten months of the year] (in Spanish). Centre for Aviation. 14 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
20. "El tráfico de pasajeros aumentó el 8,9 por ciento en 2012" [Passenger traffic increased 8.9 per cent in 2012] (Press release) (in Spanish). Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 S.A. 21 January 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013.
21. "Aeropuertos Argentina: El tráfico de pasajeros creció el 5,7 por ciento en julio" [Aeopuesrtos Argentina: Passenger traffic grew 5.7% in July] (in Spanish). Centre for Aviation. 19 August 2013. Archived from the original on 20 August 2013.
22. Garffoglio, Loreley (7 July 2011). "Ezeiza estrena una nueva terminal" [Ezeiza's new terminal commences operations] (in Spanish). La Nación. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012.
23. "Ezeiza: nueva organización de operaciones de las líneas aéreas internacionales" [Ezeiza: new organisation for the operations of international airlines] (Press release) (in Spanish). Aeropuertos Argentina 2000. 28 December 2011. Archived from the original on 31 December 2011.
24. "Aerolíneas estrenó la Terminal C" [Aerolíneas commenced operations in terminal C] (in Spanish). La Nación. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
25. Pagani, Josefina (15 July 2011). "Comenzó a operar ayer la nueva terminal C en Ezeiza" [Ezeiza's new terminal C started operations yesterday] (in Spanish). La Nación. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012.
26. "Aerolineas Argentinas begins flights to the new terminal at Ezeiza" (Press release). Aerolíneas Argentinas. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Terminal "C” also has an exclusive VIP lounge, called "Salon Condor", especially designed to meet the requirements determined by the Sky Team Alliance, of which Aerolineas Argentinas is becoming a member. The VIP salon will not only be used by Aerolineas Argentinas' passengers but also by the passengers on all airlines in the alliance.
27. "Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 confirms opening of Buenos Aires Ezeiza terminal B". Centre for Aviation. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013.
28. "Aeropuertos Argentina: Quedó inaugurada la Terminal B de Ezeiza" [Aeropuertos Argentina: Ezeiza's terminal B was inaugurated] (in Spanish). Centre for Aviation. 28 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013.
29. "Air New Zealand to launch Buenos Aires with Aerolineas Argentinas codeshare & AsiaPac connections". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 18 December 2014. Archived 18 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
30. "Building a Stronger Qantas" (Press release). Qantas Airways Limited. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
31. "Qantas launches Santiago flights" (Press release). Qantas Airways Limited. 26 March 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
32. "Qantas commences non-stop services from Sydney to Buenos Aires" (Press release). Qantas Airways Limited. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
33. "Malaysia Airlines Implements Route Rationalisation to Stem Losses and Improve Regional Network" (Press release). Malaysia Airlines. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
34. "SAA to continue serving the Argentinean market through partnerships" (Press release). South African Airways. 11 November 2013. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013.
35. "Argentina promotes tourism in UK; BA direct flights London/Buenos Aires in March". Mercopress. 22 September 2010. In June, Qatar Airways began direct flights from Doha, offering direct access from the Middle East and India. Archived 12 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
36. Kingsley-JOnes, Max (28 June 2010). "Qatar Airways continues its rapid expansion". London: Flightglobal. By mid-year seven new destinations had already been added to Qatar's network during 2010, in Asia, Europe and South America. These comprised Ankara, Bengaluru (Bangalore), Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Sao Paulo and Tokyo. Archived 12 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
37. "KLM resumes scheduled services to Buenos Aires" (Press release). KLM. 16 February 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
38. "KLM Launches Service to Four New Latin-American Destinations" (Press release). KLM. 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
39. "Emirates Expands its South American Horizons with Launch of Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires Flights" (Press release). Emirates. 4 January 2012. Archived 12 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
40. "Turkish Airlines adds Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sebha (Libya), Niamey (Nijer), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Yaounde (Cameroon), Douala (Cameroon), Isfahan (Iran) to its growing network..." (Press release). Turkish Airlines. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 11 December 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
41. "Air New Zealand touches down in Buenos Aires" (Press release). Air Zew Zealand. 2 December 2015. Archived 26 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
42. "American Airlines opts to erect protective measures against Argentina's weak economy". CAPA Centre for Aviation. 16 October 2014. American offers flights from Dallas/Fort Worth, JFK and Miami to Buenos Aires Ezeiza international airport. Archived 22 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
43. "Buenos Aires será o mais novo destino internacional da Azul". Retrieved 18 November 2016.
44. "Belo Horizonte ganhará voo direto da Gol para Buenos Aires". Mercado & Eventos. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
45. http://www.ieco.clarin.com/economia/Latam-cancela-Ezeiza-Punta-Cana_0_1612638812.html
46. "LATAM Brasil plans Buenos Aires – Bogota service from Dec 2016". routesonline. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
47. http://www.alta.aero/aura/content/publication/Capacity%20Analysis%202014%20sent.pdf
48. Accident history for Ezeiza-Ministro Pistarini Airport at Aviation Safety Network
49. Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 3 August 2011.
50. "Airline safety review – Fatal accidents: non-passenger flights". Flight International: 36. 15 January 1997 – 21 January 1997. Archived from the original on 16 July 2013. Check date values in: |date= (help)
51. Accident description for LV-MGV at the Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved on 28 July 2011.
52. "Engines eyed in CATA crash". Flightglobal.com. Flight International. 4 November 2003. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.

External links

• Airport information for Aeropuerto Internacional Ezeiza/Ministro Pistarini at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF, NGA, NOAA.
• Accident history for Ministro Pistarini International Airport at Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for SAEZ at NOAA/NWS
• Aeropuerto Buenos Aires / Ezeiza at Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 (official web site – English)