José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport
Facts on GYE
The airport's new national-and-international terminal opened on 27 July 2006 at 50,000 square meters; the old terminal, once the newest in Ecuador, closed soon after and was later converted into a convention center.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport is named for José Joaquín de Olmedo (1780–1847), a Guayaquil-born poet and patriot who helped declare the city's independence from Spain in 1820, later served twice as its mayor, and became President of Ecuador in 1845. He also composed Guayaquil's anthem and designed its flag.
Source: Wikipedia
Guayaquil's airport was renamed for Olmedo in 2006, replacing the earlier name Simón Bolívar International Airport — a title now used instead by the airports serving Caracas and Santa Marta — timed to the opening of a new 50,000 m² terminal that July.
Source: Wikipedia
Following a 2014 expansion of its domestic area, the airport can handle up to 7.5 million passengers a year; its single runway stretches 2,790 meters (9,154 feet), long enough for aircraft as large as a Boeing 747.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport sits in the broad delta of the Guayas River, just 5 kilometers (3 miles) north of downtown Guayaquil on level terrain in every direction — a flat, low-lying setting typical of Ecuador's Pacific coastal plain.
Source: Wikipedia
Because Guayaquil is mainland Ecuador's closest point to the Galápagos Islands, every domestic flight from the mainland to the islands routes through this airport to refuel and pick up passengers before continuing over the Pacific.
Source: Wikipedia
The airport was named 'Best Airport in Latin America' for 2008 and 2009 by BusinessWeek, then ranked second-best in 2011 — recognition that came alongside a 2011 Airport Service Quality award from Airports Council International.
Source: Wikipedia
On 29 April 1983, SAN Flight 832 — a Sud Aviation Caravelle — crashed near the airport's runway while attempting an emergency landing after an engine failure shortly after departing for Quito, one of the airport's most serious recorded incidents.
Source: Wikipedia