Airport type Public Elevation AMSL 32 ft / 10 m Address Esmeraldas, Ecuador Elevation 10 m | Serves Esmeraldas, Ecuador 18/36 2,551 Code ESM Phone +593 95 956 0672 | |
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Operator Dirección General de Aviación Civil Location Tachina, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador Similar CEMOPL, Hotel Cayapas, Hotel Colón Palace, Transporte Occident, Hotel Perla Verde | ||
Colonel Carlos Concha Torres Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Coronel Carlos Concha Torres) (IATA: ESM, ICAO: SETN) is an airport serving the Ecuadorian city of Esmeraldas. It is located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the city in the parish of Tachina. Established in 1940 as General Rivadeneira Airport, the airport was renovated between 2012 and 2013, receiving a new terminal and a lengthened runway. It can handle roughly 250,000 passengers per year and is served by TAME, which offers flights within Ecuador and to Colombia from the airport.
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History
The airport was established on 25 March 1940, upon the upgrading of the runway. It was originally named in honor of José Enrique Rivadeneira, an inspector general of the Ecuadorian navy who died in a 1939 plane crash.
The Ecuadorian government renovated the airport in 2014 as part of a plan to modernise the country's airports and attract more tourists and businesses to Ecuador. It also held a contest in which the people of Esmeraldas voted on a new namesake. Carlos Concha Torres, an army commander who led a war against President Leónidas Plaza in the 1910s, received the most votes.
A new passenger terminal was constructed; it was cheaper to build a new one rather than attempt to enlarge the original terminal, which was built in such a way that its expansion was difficult. A new apron and air traffic control tower were built as well, and the runway was lengthened by roughly 200 metres (660 ft). Additional works were completed on the taxiways, the fuel plant and other facilities. The construction works cost over US$45 million and lasted 17 months. The new terminal was inaugurated on 14 January 2014 by President Rafael Correa.
Infrastructure
The airport has a single runway, 18/36, with dimensions 2,551 by 45 metres (8,369 ft × 148 ft) and an apron 22,000 square metres (240,000 sq ft) in size. The terminal has a capacity for 275 passengers and can handle 250,000 per year.