AIRPORT REPORT: QUITO
Moving forward Andrew O’Brian, president and CEO of Corporación Quiport, tells Joe Bates about an eventful and challenging year for Quito International Airport.
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hile 2020 has been a tough year for Quito International Airport and operator, Corporación Quiport, a string of firsts for Latin America and breaking ground on a new cargo complex means that it has not been without its successes for Ecuador’s gateway to the world. The new firsts included becoming the first gateway in South America to resume international operations after COVID-19 brought aviation to a virtual standstill across the continent, achieving the 5-star Skytrax rating, and being the first airport in the region to be accredited under ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) programme. The airport also managed to complete a little of the planned 16,300sqm expansion of its passenger terminal before deciding to put it on hold as its opening in 2020 was no longer a priority. Summing up a rollercoaster year for the airport, Andrew O’Brian, president and CEO of Corporación Quiport, says: “It has been a tough year, but one I will look back on with pride because despite facing many considerable challenges, we managed to achieve a number of new firsts for Quito International Airport and Ecuador. “On the one hand we have faced the challenges brought by the pandemic, but on the other it is during this period that our airport
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AIRPORT WORLD/ISSUE 6, 2020
achieved the coveted 5-star Airport Skytrax rating, becoming the solitary gateway in all of the Americas to join the prestigious group of now 13 airports worldwide.”
New cargo complex The airport’s desire to have the most modern import air cargo terminal in Latin American took a huge step forward in early October when cargo consolidation operator, Tabacarcen, held the ground-breaking ceremony for a new $2 million cargo logistics centre. Expected to be completed in mid-2021, the new facility at the existing Tabacarcen cargo logistics centre will become the new import cargo distribution centre for Quito International Airport, complementing its main cargo building which is capable of accommodating up to 250,000 of freight per annum. According to Quiport, the new complex will boast an array of automated cargo handling solutions, which in addition to providing greater operational efficiency, will improve the traceability of freight shipments and guarantee greater cargo security. “While everyone is reducing budgets and investments and postponing projects, today Tabacarcen is investing in this plan, betting on Ecuador,
