Mariscal Sucre International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre) (IATA: UIO, ICAO: SEQU) was the main international airport serving Quito, Pichincha Province, 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 in 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 5 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 former airport is now the site of Parque Bicentenario, the biggest urban park in Quito.
The old Mariscal Sucre International Airport ceased all operations at 19:00 (7:00 p.m.) 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 February 20, 2013, all operations moved to the new Mariscal Sucre International Airport. 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. Arrival times were scheduled for 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. respectively.
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; six serious accidents and several incidents have occurred in recent years. 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 and began operations on 20 February 2013.
The airport charged an international departure tax of US $40.80 as of 1 March 2009. As of February 2011, this fee was no longer paid at the airport, it was included in all international airfares.
Mariscal Sucre International Airport was inaugurated in 1960, the main terminal was designed during the government of President Velasco Ibarra. The present terminal and concourses (A, B and C) were refurbished in 2003, consisting of several taxiways, maintenance platforms, parking areas, a cellar, passenger halls, Mezzanine areas and other amenities. Terminal B consisted of two floors; the lower level holds the departures area with executive waiting rooms and restaurants, and the upper level consists of airline and airport offices.
The airport had 10 gates, 5 with Jet bridges and 5 with stairs.
TAME's main hub
On 10 December 2000, TAME officially opened its hub in Quito, offering an estimated 2,000 possible connections per week, including greater numbers of frequencies, schedules and destinations served. Connections between domestic and international destinations were operated directly and through code sharing agreements with airlines such as TACA Airlines and Copa Airlines.
Operations out of Quito allowed travelers to connect between domestic destinations (such as Guayaquil to Galápagos), from a domestic destination to an international destination (Such as Tena to Cali), from an international destination to a domestic city (Such as Cali to Tulcán), between two international destinations (Such as Bogota to Panama City) and allows for simpler codeshare connections (such as Lima to Santa Rosa with TACA Airlines and TAME).
The hub also featured facilities for easier transits, such as exclusive check-in counters for travelers in transit, buses for internal transportation between Terminals A & B, and two special lounges for national and international transit passengers to avoid having to go through Ecuadorian customs and immigration between transits.
TAME's hub transferred to Mariscal Sucre International Airport in Tababela in February 19, 2013.
The airport consisted of one terminal split into a national and international areas. It was equipped with five swing gates capable of directing arriving passengers to either Immigration or to baggage claim. In addition, there were numerous ground slots where passengers walked to the aircraft from the terminal.
VIP lounges
Mariscal Sucre Airport had 4 VIP Salons in the terminals A and B. For passengers of AeroGal, there was an exclusive salon near gate 2,"AeroGal VIP Club". Passengers of TAME had access to the "TAME" VIP Lounge in terminal B, a lounge that was exclusively for first and business class passengers. This area was nominated as the best VIP lounge of the year in Ecuador, the "QUIPORT VIP Club", and a lesser VIP Lounge, the "American Airlines Admirals Club" in the gate 10.
Transportation
Transportation between the airport and city was provided by taxis, tour buses and vans. For security reasons, visitors were recommended to take only those taxis offered by registered companies at the airport Terminal A arrivals area.
Terminals, airlines and destinations
The airlines in bold are operative, the airlines with cursive are operative, but no longer serves Quito.
This terminal served national arrivals and departures, the airlines that served here were:
(Incomplete list)
AeroGal (Cuenca, Guayaquil, El Coca, Manta, Lago Agrio)
Austro Aéreo (Cuenca)
Ecuatoriana de Aviación (Guayaquil)
Icaro Air (Guayaquil, Coca, Manta)
LAN Ecuador (Cuenca, Guayaquil)
Panagra (Guayaquil)
SAEREO (Macas)
Saeta (Guayaquil, Cuenca, Baltra, San Cristóbal)
San (Guayaquil, Cuenca)
TAME (Baltra, Cuenca, Tulcan, Coca, Esmeraldas, Guayaquil, Manta, Nueva Loja, Loja, Salinas, Santa Rosa, Macas, Tena)
This terminal served international arrivals and departures, all airlines that served this airport (included defunct), the airlines that served here were:
(Incomplete list)
Aces (Bogotá, Medellín-Córdova)
Aero Continente (Lima)
Aerolíneas Argentinas (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza)
AeroGal (Bogotá, Medellín-Córdova, Lima, Miami, New York-JFK)
Aeroperú (Lima)
Air Comet (Madrid)
Air Europa (Madrid)
Air Madrid (Madrid, Barcelona)
Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
American Airlines (Miami)
AOM French Airlines (Paris-Orly)
Avensa (Caracas)
Avianca (Bogotá)
Braniff International (Miami, Newark, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco)
British Caledonian (Caracas, London-Gatwick)
Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
Copa Airlines (Panama City)
Copa Airlines Colombia' (Bogotá)
Cruzeiro (São Paulo, Río de Janeiro)
Cubana de Aviación (La Habana)
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
Dominicana de Aviación (Santo Domingo)
Eastern Air Lines (Miami, New York-JFK)
Ecuatoriana de Aviación (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Asunción, Antofagasta, Chicago, Mexico City, Cancún, Montevideo, Panama City, Cali, Caracas, Bogotá, La Paz, Lima, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Madrid, Manaus, Miami, Montreal, Toronto, Tel Aviv, Nassau, New York-JFK, Washington, Río de Janeiro, São Paulo, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Santiago de Chile)
Icaro Air (Bogotá, Cali)
Iberia (Madrid)
KLM (Amsterdam)
LACSA (San José de Costa Rica)
Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Lima, San Juan de Puerto Rico)
LAN Airlines (Santigo de Chile, Miami)
LAN Ecuador (Madrid, Miami, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Santigo de Chile)
LAN Perú (Lima, Cali, Medellín-Córdova)
Lapsa (Asunción)
Lloyd Aéreo Boliviano (Santa Cruz de la Sierra, La Paz)
Mexicana de Aviación (Mexico City)
Pan Am (Miami, New York-JFK)
Panagra (Miami, Lima, Bogotá, New York-JFK)
Saeta (Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Caracas, Mexico City, Panama City, Lima, Cusco, La Paz, Los Angeles, Medellín, Miami, New York, Santiago de Chile)
Servivensa (Caracas)
TACA Airlines (San Salvador)
TACA Peru (Lima)
TAME (Bogotá, Cali, Caracas, Lima, Panama City, São Paulo)
United Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental)
Varig (São Paulo, Río de Janeiro, San José de Costa Rica)
VASP (São Paulo)
Viasa (Bogotá, Caracas)
Cargo airlines and destinations
These destinations were operated from the Cargo Terminal.
ABSA Cargo Airline (Fortaleza, Guayaquil, Manaus, São Paulo-Viracopos, Miami, Panama City)
AeroSucre (Bogotá)
Air Cargo Germany (Bogota, Frankfurt, Frankfurt-Hahn, Mexico City, Toronto-Pearson)
Atlas Air (New York-JFK)
Cargolux (Bogotá, Luxembourg City, Maastricht, São Paulo-Viracopos)
Centurion Air Cargo (Miami)
Cielos Airlines (Lima, Miami)
DHL Aero Expreso (Miami)
FedEx Express (Memphis, Miami)
Florida West International Airways (Miami)
LAN Cargo (Amsterdam, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Miami, Santiago de Chile)
LANCO (Amsterdam, Bogotá, Miami, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão)
Lufthansa Cargo (Frankfurt)
Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas (Bogotá)
Martinair (Aguadilla, Amsterdam, Miami, San Jose de Costa Rica)
MasAir (Los Angeles, Mexico City)
Singapore Airlines Cargo (Bogotá, Brussels, São Paulo-Viracopos)
Southern Air (Miami)
TAMPA Cargo (Bogotá, Medellín, Miami)
UPS (Miami)
World Airways Cargo (Miami)
Accidents and incidents
29 November 2012: A Boeing 737-800 of Copa Airlines went off the runway during landing, leaving the main landing gear about 3 feet from the concrete. There were no injuries and the accident was caused by heavy rain falling at the time.
16 September 2011: TAME flight 148 from Loja, 97 passengers & 6 crew, slipped off the runway at 19:11. A government official said some passengers suffered "light contusions", but none perished. Airport operations were halted for 3.5 hrs.
27 October 2009: An Ecuadorian Air Force HAL Dhruv helicopter crashed during display maneuvers at Mariscal Sucre International Airport, with both pilots sustaining only minor scratches and no casualties. The aircraft was flying in military formation with two other helicopters.
19 March 2009: An Ecuadorian Air Force Beechcraft B200 King Air struck a building in the Guápulo district of Quito while on approach to Mariscal Sucre International Airport in heavy fog. All five occupants of the aircraft were killed, as well as two people on the ground.
23 September 2008: An Icaro Air Fokker F28 Mk4000 skidded off the runway. There were no injuries among the 62 passengers, but the aircraft was written off.
9 November 2007: An Iberia Airlines Airbus A340-600 (Iberia 6463 Flight) was badly damaged after sliding off the runway. The landing gear collapsed and two engines were dislodged. All 333 passengers and crew were evacuated via inflatable slides, but no serious injuries were reported.
17 January 2003: A TAME Fokker F28 Mk4000 ran off the runway after takeoff was aborted due to a tire blowout. The nose gear collapsed, and the aircraft came to rest 81 metres (266 ft) past the runway threshold. There were no injuries.
29 August 1998: A Cubana de Aviación Tupolev Tu-154M overshot the runway killing the 14-member crew, 56 of the 77 passengers and 10 people on the ground.
1 May 1996: A Fly Linhas Aéreas Boeing 727-200 aborted takeoff in rainy weather, but overshot the runway, crossing a road that lay at the end of runway 35. The aircraft was fully loaded. No injuries were reported.
3 May 1995: A Gulfstream II operated by American Jet selected the wrong VOR frequency during a nighttime approach to Quito; the jet flew 12 miles (19 km) further south than it should have, striking the Sincholagua volcano at 16,000 feet (4,900 m). All seven occupants were killed.
10 December 1992: A North American Sabreliner 60 operated by the Ecuadorian Air Force clipped a 10-story building under construction 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the airport. The aircraft crashed into a residential area, killing all 10 on board and 3 on the ground.
3 June 1988: A North American Sabreliner 40 operated by the Ecuadorian Air Force flew into a mountain on the outskirts of Quito, killing all 11 on board.
18 September 1984: An AECA (Aeroservicios Ecuatorianos) Douglas DC-8-50 freighter failed to achieve altitude during takeoff, running off the end of the runway and crashing into a residential area 460 metres (1,510 ft) past the runway, destroying 25 houses, killing all 4 crewmembers and 49 people on the ground.
29 April 1982: A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Ecuadorian Air Force crashed into a mountain near Quito while executing a missed approach; 7 were killed.
27 January 1980: An Avianca Boeing 727 landed too fast, too far down the runway, and consequently overran, collapsing the nosegear. No injuries were reported.
7 November 1960: An AREA Ecuador Fairchild F-27 crashed into a mountain 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) south of Quito during its approach. 37 occupants were killed.
