Jorge Chávez International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez
IATA: LIM – ICAO: SPIM
Summary
Airport type		Public international
Operator		Lima Airport Partners
Location		Lima, Peru
Elevation AMSL		34 m / 113 ft
Coordinates		12°01′19″S 77°06′52″W / 12.02194°S 77.11444°W / -12.02194; -77.11444
Website		lap.com.pe
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
15/33	3,507	11,506	Asphalt

Inside the airport.

Jorge Chávez International Airport (IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPIM), known as Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez in Spanish, is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, 11 kilometers (7 mi) from the Historic Centre of Lima and 17 km (11 mi) from Miraflores. Callao is the port city now fully integrated with Lima, the nation's capital. In 2008, the airport handled 8,288,506 passengers and 98,733 aircraft movements. In 2009, the airport handled 8,786,973 passengers and 104,966 aircraft movements, which although small, was one of the fastest increases in the Americas.

For many years it was the hub for now defunct Aeroperú and Compañía de Aviación Faucett, one of the oldest airlines in Latin America. Now it serves as a hub for many aviation companies.

History

The first airport of Lima was the Limatambo Airport, located in San Isidro, which ceased operations in 1960 due to lack of space and capacity to handle the increasing flights. In that same year, the Lima-Callao International Airport began to operate in Callao. In June 1965, the airport was renamed as "Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez" after French Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez Dartnell and in December 1965, the current terminal building was inaugurated.

Over time, the airport showed signals of decay, lack of space for passengers and outdated technology in radar and safety. In 2001, in order to improve and expand its infrastructure, the airport was concessioned by the Peruvian government to Lima Airport Partners (LAP), now composed of Fraport and two other minor partners, retaining the air traffic control managed by the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC).

Airport Expansion

In February 2005, the first phase of a new renovation and expansion project was completed, including the Peru Plaza Commercial Center and the new concourse. In June 2007 a four-star hotel was opened in front of the terminal. In January 2009, the second phase of the terminal expansion was inaugurated. Now the terminal has 28 gates, 19 of them with boarding bridges. In August 2009, Jorge Chávez International Airport announced that they should receive a new ILS CAT III in 2010 to help with fog landings in Lima. The construction of a second runway is another very important project to be completed in 2014. 'Arquitectonica", a Miami based architectural office and Lima Airport Partners set out to approved the construction of a second terminal and the expansion of the main terminal.

Commercial Infrastructure

Hotel - Along with the airport expansion Lima Airport Partners added a four star hotel, 'Ramada Costa del Sol" right in front of the control tower and the arrivals exit. The Hotel is built with noise canceling panels as well as a Restaurant, a pool, business center, spa, beauty salon, gymnasium and a bar.

"Peru Plaza" Shopping Center - Located in near the passenger terminal in the Grand Concourse, The expansion included a new shopping center with stores, restaurants, gyms, spas, and souvenir shops. Stores such as Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, Versace, Timberland and Esprit are located in the duty-free area of the concourse, this area is also to be expanded by 2011.

Food Court - Located on the second floor, the food court has outlets of: Mcdonald's, Papa John's, Manos Morenas, Starbucks and others, there is also a Dunkin' Donuts next to the main entrance of the terminal.

Passenger Services

VIP Lounges - Jorge Chavez Airport has various VIP Salons in the departures terminal, such as "VIP Peru", a luxury waiting room with bars, tables, and other amenities. For passengers in First class, there is an exclusive salon near the gates,"VIP Club". And renovated the "Sumaq VIP Lounge", a lounge exclusively for first and business class passengers nominated as the best VIP lounge of the year by the survey of the "Priority Pass" VIP Network.

Transportation - Transportation between the airport and city is provided by taxis, tour buses and vans. For security reasons, visitors are recommended to take only those taxis offered by registered companies at the airport arrivals area.

Tourist Information - Tourist Information is offered near International and domestic arrivals and departures, as well as informative material is given to direct tourists to the principal attractions of the country.

Airlines and destinations

KLM Boeing 777 at Airport

Gateways approach

A total of 21 passenger airlines and 22 cargo airlines offers destinations to 54 domestic and international destinations to North America, South America and Europe. When the next phase of the airport expansion is complete, the airport will be ready to serve from eighty to ninety airlines around the world.

Cargo Airlines

• ABSA
• Atlas Air
• Centurion Air Cargo
• Cielos Airlines
• DHL
• FedEx
• Florida West International Airways
• LAN Cargo
• Martinair Cargo
• MasAir
• Tampa Cargo
• UPS

Cargo Operations

The Jorge Chavez International Airport is home to the main base for the cargo industry in South America. Next to the airport is the Lima Cargo City, a hub for all cargo airlines to transport goods to being imported or exported. The 35 million dollar project was completed and began operations on 12 May 2009. A 380 meter tunnel joins the building to the airport, while an additional building is used to organize and secure the operations coming from eighteen airlines and destinations to all continents. The hub is big enough to hold up to twenty cargo airplanes at the same time.

Accidents and incidents

• 27 November 1962: Varig flight 810, a Boeing 707-441 registration PP-VJB flying from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Jorge Chávez International Airport, after initiating an overshoot procedure at the suggestion of the control tower because it was too high, proceeded to start another approach when it crashed into La Cruz peak, 8 miles away from Lima Airport. Possibly there was a misinterpretation of navigation instruments. All 97 passengers and crew on board died.

Awards

Jorge Chávez International Airport was awarded the title of best airport in South America by Skytrax World Airports Awards in years 2005,2009 and 2010. It came in second place in the 2008 survey.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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