Chinchero International Airport is an under construction

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

in the town of

Chinchero District Chinchero District is one of seven Districts of Peru, districts of the Urubamba Province in Peru. It is the location for the proposed Chinchero International Airport, which would serve travelers to the Cusco Region. Geography One of the highest ...

Cusco Region Cusco, also spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu suyu ), is a department and region in Peru and is the fourth largest department in the country, after Madre de Dios, Ucayali, and Loreto. It borders the departments of Ucayali on the north; Madre de D ...

Perú , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy fo ...

. It is planned to replace

Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport is an international airport located in the city of Cusco, in southeastern Peru. Cusco, a principal tourist attraction in Latin America, receives various domestic flights as well as some internat ...

. Its altitude will be above sea level.

History

Chinchero International Airport November 2021

The idea of an airport in Chinchero began in 1978 when the Peruvian government decided to develop a new airport in the area, though plans were indefinitely delayed due to the

internal conflict in Peru The internal conflict in Peru is an ongoing armed conflict between the Government of Peru and the Marxism–Leninism–Maoism, Maoist guerilla group Shining Path. The conflict began on 17 May 1980, and from 1982 to 1997 the Túpac Amaru Revolu ...

. As the conflict subsided, residents in the development area agreed to sell their land in 2011 and in 2012, President

Ollanta Humala Lieutenant colonel Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso (; born 27 June 1962) is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as President of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered ...

signed laws to allow the

expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

of land necessary for the airport. On 3 February 2017, President

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

announced the beginning of the construction of the new Chinchero International Airport. Construction of the airport began in 2019. Peru and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

announced on 24 October 2019 that South Korea would collaborate on the construction of the airport, providing technical assistance. At the time of unveiling plans for the airport, the anticipated opening date was 2021. However, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Peru The COVID-19 pandemic in Peru has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. The virus spread to Peru on 6 March 2020, when a 25-year-old man who had travelled to Spain, France, and the Czech Republic tested positive. On 15 March 20 ...

, the opening of the airport was delayed to 2025. On 19 November 2021,

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (HDEC; ) is a major construction company in South Korea. The company was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1947 as the Hyundai Civil Works Company and was a major component of the Hyundai Group. Hyund ...

broke ground for the airport in a ceremony attended by the company's president Yoon Young-joon.

Plans

Chincero is planned to operate around the clock and will open with the capacity to serve five million passengers annually. Expansion plans include an additional capacity of up to eight million passengers.

Controversy

Cultural impact

The airport project is opposed by archaeologists and local activists due to its potential to destroy historic landmarks and bring additional tourist traffic that would harm

Machu Picchu Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...

. In 2019,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

called on Peru to cease plans for construction until a heritage impact study could be performed in regard to Machu Picchu, Cusco and the

Qhapaq Ñan The Inca road system (also spelled Inka road system and known as ''Qhapaq Ñan''Qhapaq=rich, powerful, opulent, wealthy, privileged; ñan=road, way, path, route. Source "Diccionario quechua - español - quechua" Gobierno Regional Cusco - Cusco ...

. The

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

again asked President

Francisco Sagasti Francisco Rafael Sagasti Hochhausler OSP ( (); born 10 October 1944) is a Peruvian engineer, academic, and author who served as the President of Peru from November 2020 to July 2021. Sagasti has worked as an advisor for economic development a ...

in February 2021 to delay further construction in respect of the recommendations by UNESCO, with the organization stating "The land removal will mean the irreversible destruction of the cultural landscape of Chinchero".

Environment

The construction of the airport would directly affect the area's ecosystem. According to Óscar Paredes Pando of the

National University of Saint Anthony the Abbot in Cuzco The National University of Saint Anthony the Abad in Cuzco (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco'') (UNSAAC), also known as Saint Anthony University of Cusco or University of Cusco, is a public university in Cusco, Peru ...

, the airport would destroy at least seventeen natural springs that provide water to lakes and other wetlands in Cusco.

Function

Initial plans to provide direct flights from

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and the

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provide opportunities for foreign travelers to bypass

Jorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport (Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez) is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, northwest from Lima Center, the nation's capital city and from the district of Miraflo ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

during their visits to Cusco. The Ministry of Transport and Communications announced months after construction began in 2019 that transoceanic flights were not possible due to the altitude of the airport while Bruno Papi, a veteran pilot of the

Peruvian Air Force The Peruvian Air Force ( es, link=no, Fuerza Aérea del Perú, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguardin ...

, said that the airport may not be able to operate at all due to the difficult mountainous terrain and altitude.

References

Airports in Peru Buildings and structures in Cusco Proposed airports {{Peru-airport-stub