Peru - Machu Picchu: Peru unveils plans for new airport

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19353660

If the gate is limited to 2500 per day, when does Peru breakeven on the $450MM investment?

Per http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-news/1184086-welcome-travel-news-what-should-posted-here-what-should-posted-elsewhere.html I'll move this to the correct destination forum while leaving a 30-day re-direct here.

cblaisd
Moderator, Travel News.

The BBC headline is very misleading. The new airport will not be at Machu Picchu. It will be in the Sacred Valley, outside Cusco, between Chinchero and Urubamba. While many tourist passengers using the airport will visit MP, many will also go to Cusco and the towns of the Sacred Valley, which are tourist destinations in their own right. Many passengers will be local people too, and they won't be going to MP at all.

This will be a replacement airport for the aging facility in Cusco itself, which has problems with wind and tricky approaches. Sure. It will allow an increase in passengers and night flights for the first time, which the present airport can't handle, but it's not like Cusco doesn't already get a lot of air traffic.

:)

The BBC headline is very misleading. The new airport will not be at Machu Picchu. It will be in the Sacred Valley, outside Cusco, between Chinchero and Urubamba. While many tourist passengers using the airport will visit MP, many will also go to Cusco and the towns of the Sacred Valley, which are tourist destinations in their own right. Many passengers will be local people too, and they won't be going to MP at all.

This will be a replacement airport for the aging facility in Cusco itself, which has problems with wind and tricky approaches. Sure. It will allow an increase in passengers and night flights for the first time, which the present airport can't handle, but it's not like Cusco doesn't already get a lot of air traffic.

:)

I was in Cusco last month. The current airport is not adequate for the current level of traffic. I was amazed at how close houses are to the runway. I was also amazed by the number of little jets taxing around the little airport.

I was also amazed at the landing pattern. You need to spiral down two or three turns past ridges to get to the flat spot at the bottom of the valley. The only US airport where I have had a similar landing is Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

If they put in a decent size airport on the highway to Urubamba, they will be able to get direct flights from outside Peru.

EW

Actually the area is not within the valley, as I understand, but near it. So it's a wider area than the sacred valley or the current airport. And yes that doesn't mean necessarily MP will receive more people. Whenever they control the access, the train schedules, it shouldn't be a risk. The current airport is too saturated, they need to open a new larger one.

I was there last November. Loved every minute of it. I wished the airport was in near Sacred Valley as I was short on time and didn't want to spend much time in Cusco.

Will be interesting to see what happens with landing charges and departure taxes when opened... New airport is necessary but 450 millions is a lot considering the current traffic numbers and domestic departure taxes.

I hope they have calculated the indirect benefits well as local market won't be able to support high domestic departure taxes and adding international flights might not be as easy as it looks like at first glance...

The new aiport should be accompanied by the development of touristic products and sustainable and responsible tourism. That would make more sense about the need of a larger airport.

For example a good touristic infraestructure around Choquequirao (right now only for trekkers and adventure travelers) would be a good reason to visit Cusco area beyond Machu Picchu. And there are lot of exotic, interesting places, nowadays hard to reach, or stay at nights.

Unfortunately I have not heard that. Just hope and assumptions. By the way, I read that some pilots unions are complaining that the chosen Chinchero area is not so good (secure) for landings. The 4 km. airstrip fits good enough, but the surrounding areas where the planes need to descend, have some hills that complicate landing in case the plane is in some trouble. I'm not specialist so I'm not sure that is 100% true or they are saying that as excuse when maybe there are other political actual reasons.