Month: April 2019

• For the second year in a row, Quito International Airport’s cargo operation has received the Diamond Award (1st place) in the category of up to 399,999 tons per year, Top Cargo Airport in Latin America and Top Airport – Specialty Cargo.

The annual Air Cargo Excellence Awards recognize exceptional performance in the air transport industry. The awards are based on the Air Cargo Excellence Survey, which surveys more than 1,700 market participants to determine the top cargo carriers and airports in the world; which include Mariscal Sucre Airport as the winner of Top Airport – Specialty Cargo, Diamond Award for terminals with a capacity to transport up to 399,999 tons and the Regional Award for Top Cargo Airport in Latin America.

A total of 16 awards are given in recognition of the top carriers and airports in the cargo industry. There are 6 awards for air carriers in different categories and 8 awards for airports, and the highest scores are measured using several factors:

• Performance: Fulfills promises and contractual agreements; dependable, prompt and courteous customer service; allied services, ground handling, trucking, etc.
• Value: competitive rates; rates commensurate with service level required; value-added programs.
• Facilities: Apron, warehousing, perishables center; access to highways and other modes.
• Regulatory Operations: Customs, Security, FTZ (free trade zones).

The three awards achieved at the 2019 Air Cargo Excellence Awards highlight Corporación Quiport’s commitment as the concessionaire of Quito’s airport to turn it into a pole of development for air exports from the city and its area of influence, creating jobs and multiplying the resources brought to the country’s economy.

Since 2012, export cargo moved from Mariscal Sucre Airport has grown from 133,104 tons to 194,098 tons in 2018, a 46% increase, thanks to the operational advantages, infrastructure and efficiency of the operations offered by Quito Airport.

“The increase in exports from Quito, particularly of flowers which represent 92% of export volumes, has been very important. Today we have 8 cargo carriers that operate regularly in Quito and some 11 charter airlines. This has enabled us to, for example, break records in the past few years for the volume of exports during the St. Valentines season, which is the most important season for the country’s flower industry”, says Andrew O’Brian, President and CEO of Corporación Quiport.

This is the second consecutive year that the airport has received these three awards, confirming the excellent work of all stakeholders in the cargo operation at Quito Airport such as palletizers, airlines, consolidators and exporters.

The funds from the tournament will go towards the remodeling of three sports fields in the area of influence of Quito International Airport, as part of Corporación Quiport’s Social Responsibility Program.

On April 12, the 2019 Copa Quiport golf tournament was held at Los Cerros Golf Club. The event brought together 106 amateur players and 38 companies that operate at and supply Quito Airport for a day of sport with a social purpose.

Thanks to the strong response to the tournament and the active participation of the sponsoring companies, funds were raised to rehabilitate three soccer fields that serve children and young people between the ages of 5 to 14 who live near the airport.

For Andrew O´Brian, President and CEO of Corporación Quiport, the support of the participants and sponsors was key to the event’s success. “We managed to bring together an important group of companies that operate at Quito Airport for a beneficial cause through the sport of golf. Quiport has positioned itself as a good neighbor to the communities in the surrounding parishes, becoming a driver of development and working with local people to improve their conditions”.

The Quiport soccer school project began two years ago with the aim to offer children and young people in the neighboring areas of the airport an activity that would enable them to spend their free time in a healthy way, while being educated on values such as solidarity, responsibility and teamwork.

Corporación Quiport recognizes the companies, suppliers and entrepreneurs who are part of Mariscal Sucre Airport and who helped us achieve the aim of this event which seeks to promote sport and social responsibility.

• Corporación Quiport continues to open new routes and increase flights to connect Quito and Ecuador with the rest of the world.
• LATAM Airlines Ecuador has started to operate the new direct route between Quito and Santiago from Mariscal Sucre Airport.

LATAM Airlines Ecuador haslaunched its inaugural flight on the new direct route between Quito and Santiago at a special event for passengers and city authorities. The new direct flight to the south of the continent is served by an Airbus 320neo, which departed from Quito at 09:55 a.m. and is scheduled to arrive in Santiago at 4:55 p.m. (local time).

The Minister of Tourism, Rosi Prado de Holguín, said “the arrival of new airlines to the country and the increase in flights confirms business confidence in Ecuador as a destination and in Mariscal Sucre Airport, which in its six years of operation has won an array of international awards including Best Regional Airport in South America at the Skytrax World Airport Awards. In 2018 alone, 45,000 tourists from Chile visited Ecuador, an increase of 2% compared with 2017”.

LATAM Airlines will offer approximately 72,000 seats per year on this route, a 62% increase in capacity between Ecuador and Chile. The A320neo is an aircraft with new-generation technology offering passengers a more efficient, more sustainable flight and significant environmental performance.

Álvaro Maldonado, Secretary of Productive Development and Competitiveness at Quito Municipality, said “LATAM has been a strategic partner who has known how to make the most of the advantages offered by Mariscal Sucre Airport, the city as a destination and the open skies policy implemented by the national government. These factors have aligned to increase connectivity, tourism, foreign currency, wealth and the wellbeing of our citizens”.

Andrew O’Brian, President and CEO of Corporación Quiport, congratulated LATAM Airlines on the new flight and said “we are very pleased with the launch of this new route which is a welcome addition to the connectivity of the city. I would like to thank LATAM for all its efforts and the joint work which has made this new route a reality today. At Quiport we continue our efforts to open new routes and increase flights to connect Quito and Ecuador with the world. We wish the airline every success and we hope that passengers enjoy its quality of service.”