Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport

"CUZ" redirects here. For other uses of the term, see Cuz (disambiguation).

Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport (IATA: CUZ, ICAO: SPZO) 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 international flights. The runway is completely paved. It operates at limited capacity due to its precarious location near the city's center. Despite these limitations, the airport has consistently ranked as Peru's second most important air terminal, handling 3,209,153 national and international passengers in 2016, as reported by CORPAC.

Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Alejandro Velasco Astete
Aerial overview of CUZ
IATA: CUZ ICAO: SPZO
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	CORPAC S.A.
Serves	Cusco
Focus city for	LATAM Perú
Elevation AMSL	10,860 ft / 3,310 m
Coordinates	13°32′08″S 71°56′37″W / 13.53556°S 71.94361°W / -13.53556; -71.94361
Website	www.corpac.gob.pe
Map
CUZ Location of airport in Peru
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 10/28 11,146 3,397 Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
passengers 3,209,153^[1] cargo tonnage 1,727.51

Name

It was named in honor of the Peruvian pilot Alejandro Velasco Astete who was the first aeroplane pilot to cross the Andes in 1925. This first flight was from Lima directly to Cusco. Later that year, in September, while trying to avoid crashing into spectators at an airshow in the city of Puno he crashed and was killed. In recognition of his pioneering achievements in Peruvian aviation history, the airport was named in his honor.

History

 

Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport, March 2006

The airport began service in December 1964. It was served by American Airlines from New York City on a JFK-LIM-CUZ-LIM-JFK routing from 1998 to 1999 using Boeing 757-200 aircraft.^{[citation needed]} However, these flights were discontinued due to a number of factors, including the airport's limited services and facilities, as well as the Peruvian government's refusal to grant passenger transportation rights between Lima and Cusco. American still holds the rights to this route and can resume flights at the company's discretion.^{[citation needed]} The airport was largely controlled by airline giants Aeroperú and Faucett Perú, which would both be declared bankrupt in the late 1990s. In 1970, LANSA Flight 502 crashed after taking off from the airport and killed 99 out of the 100 onboard.

 

The front side of the airport

On February 3, 2017, President Kuczynski announced the beginning of the construction of the new Chinchero International Airport,^[2] which will be located in the suburb of Chinchero, 30 minutes from the city of Cusco. It is estimated that the new airport, will be completed by 2025 when Velasco Astete International Airport will be closed.^[3] It is expected to receive up to 6 million passengers upon its opening. It's main intent is to promote more tourism in Cusco and to prevent a stop in Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport, since the current airport mostly has domestic destinations from Lima and other countries in south america. There are multiple enviromental and safety concerns regarding the new airport, with numerous attempts, even by UNESCO, to stop the construction of the airport which could harm the popular Incan site Machu Picchu and other ruins. The new airport would break ground in 2021.

Design

The airport has a number of amenities to service the multitude of tourists which visit the city of Cusco. A number of years ago, it was the first Peruvian airport to make use of jetways. The runway is paved and is 3400 meters (11,155 feet) long and 45 meters (148 feet) wide. The long length of the runway is due of the elevation of the airport. The thin/less dense air requires aircraft to use more runway length to generate wing lift. Engine power generation is reduced for the same reasons, less dense air, less thrust from the engines than at lower elevations. Climb-outs are much more slow and shallow than at lower elevation airports. Due to high terrain on 3 sides, this is a "one runway airport".^[4] Landings are only authorized from the south, onto runway 28.^[5] Takeoffs are only authorized in the reverse direction, from runway 10.^[6]

 

A Viva Air Colombia Airbus A320 at Cusco Airport

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Avianca	Bogotá,^[7] La Paz
JetSmart Perú	Arequipa, Guayaquil, Lima, Quito
LATAM Perú	Arequipa, Ayacucho, Juliaca, Lima, Puerto Maldonado, Santiago de Chile,^[8] Tacna
Sky Airline Peru	Iquitos, Lima

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at CUZ airport. See Wikidata query.

Access

Taxi services are located just outside of the landing area. Rates are provided at the moment of the deal depending on both the number of passengers and the final destinations. Shuttle options for transportation include Cusco Airport Shuttle and Cusco Shuttle

Accident

On August 9, 1970, LANSA Flight 502, a four-engine Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop, crashed shortly after takeoff from the Cusco airport, killing 99 of the 100 people on board, plus two people on the ground, in the second deadliest accident in Peru's aviation history to that date. 49 of the passengers were high school exchange students visiting Peru from Buffalo, New York. Investigation revealed the accident was caused by improper piloting technique and poor maintenance. The airline was suspended and fined by the Peruvian government. A memorial — a large white cross with a nameplate — has been erected for the victims near the crash site, about a mile and a half west-north-west from the airport.^[9][10][11]

References

1. "CORPAC S.A. - Página Web". www.corpac.gob.pe. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
2. Gestión, Redacción (3 February 2017). "PPK: Aeropuerto de Chinchero llegará rápidamente a 6 millones de pasajeros al año". Gestion. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
3. "The Uphill Battle to Stop Peru From Building a New Airport Near Machu Picchu". Smithsonian Magazine. from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
4. SPZO/CUZ TNTE FZP ALEJANDRO VELAZCO ASTETE AIRPORT FAMILIARIZATION CHART - Chart 19-02. Jeppesen. 25 Nov 2022.
5. SPZO/CUZ TNTE FZP ALEJANDRO VELAZCO ASTETE AIRPORT FAMILIARIZATION CHART Rwy 28 - Chart 19-04. Jeppesen. 25 Nov 2022.
6. SPZO/CUZ TNTE FZP ALEJANDRO VELAZCO ASTETE AIRPORT FAMILIARIZATION CHART Rwy 10 - Chart 19-03. Jeppesen. 25 Nov 2022.
7. "Avianca unirá a Bogotá con Tegucigalpa-Palmerola y Cusco". Aviacionline. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
8. "LATAM plans to resume flights between Cusco and Santiago de Chile". Aviacionline. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
9. "Accident record". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
10. "Peruvian Line Suspended". The New York Times. September 3, 1970. p. 32.
11. "Schumer Announces Peruvian Memorial For Plane Crash Victims Will Be Moved To Safe Location". U.S. Senate (Schumer press release). from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-17.

External links

• (in Spanish) Satellite view by Google Earth