Lima's new airport continues to face passenger complaints
Travelers gather inside the Jorge Chávez International Airport in Peru, on May 30. The airport has experienced multiple operational problems, including recurring flight cancellations. Photo by Paolo Aguilar/EPA-EFE
June 11 (UPI) -- Only two weeks after opening, Lima's new Jorge Chávez International Airport has experienced multiple operational problems, including recurring flight cancellations.
Three domestic flights were canceled Tuesday, according to Peru's Radio Exitosa. Between 18 and 25 flights were canceled in the airport's first days of operation, mostly due to fuel distribution failures.
Passengers have also voiced frustration over long lines at both baggage check-in and immigration.
The departure area for immigration is about 40% smaller, and the arrivals area 20% smaller, than in the previous terminal, according to reports. The limited space has caused crowding, especially during peak hours with several flights operating at once.
The airport's opening marked a milestone in Peru's infrastructure development. With more than $2.4 billion invested, the project -- managed by Lima Airport Partners (LAP) -- is the country's most ambitious transportation effort to date. Its goal is to make Lima the air hub of the South Pacific.
However, since opening June 1, the new terminal has faced criticism over operational and logistical efficiency.
The new airport spans 935 hectares -- three times the size of the previous terminal -- and is designed to handle up to 40 million passengers annually by 2030. That would put Lima on par with regional hubs such as São Paulo and Bogotá.
The project was designed to capture the growing flow of connecting passengers between South America, North America and Europe, while boosting the country's foreign trade and tourism -- sectors that account for about 2.9% of Peru's GDP.
However, the terminal opened with multiple deficiencies, several of which were blamed on the lack of stress testing before operations began.
In addition to fuel supply failures that caused flight cancellations, water leaks were reported in some airline offices.
However, the most serious criticism focused on the runway design, as only 2,588 of the required 3,500 meters are currently usable -- raising concerns about the safe takeoff of fully loaded intercontinental flights.
In response, LAP rejected claims that the runway was delivered in an incomplete or unsafe condition. The company said the infrastructure follows the approved design, which is being developed in phases and is operating under recognized standards.
LAP said all operations -- including taxiing, takeoff and landing -- meet international standards and are certified by Peru's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) and other regulatory agencies.
The lack of road and rail access to the new terminal has also drawn criticism. The main route is a congested city street, and the Metro station linking to the airport isn't expected to open until 2027.
The implementation of a Unified Airport Usage Fee (TUUA) for connecting passengers has drawn criticism. Unlike more efficient regional hubs such as Panama's Tocumen Airport -- where connecting travelers pay reduced fees or are exempt -- Lima charges the full rate.
Peru's Ministry of Transport and Communications has defended the project as a long-term endeavor. "This airport marks a new stage for Peru's economy and its integration into the global market," Transport Minister Raúl Pérez Reyes said.
However, economists and logistics groups have urged caution. Poor coordination of road projects, Metro delays and limited initial operations have raised doubts about intersectoral planning.
To meet the 2030 target, experts say Peru must improve not only physical infrastructure, but also operational efficiency, regulatory stability and competitive pricing.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
6 hours ago
- UPI
Supreme Court OKs challenge to California stricter emission standards
1 of 2 | Electric cars sit on a Tesla parking lot in Fremont, Calif. (May 2020). Fossil fuel companies can challenge California's stricter standards to reduce pollution from vehicles, the U.S Supreme Court ruled Friday. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo June 20 (UPI) -- Fossil fuel companies can challenge California setting stricter emissions standards for cars, the U.S Supreme Court ruled Friday. California has stipulated that only zero-emission cars will be able to sold there by 2035, with a phased increase in ZEV requirements for model years 2026-2035. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set a fleet-wide average of 49 mpg by model year 2026, with higher standards in the following years. In the 7-2 opinion authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the court ruled that oil producers have legal standing to sue over California's clean car standards approved by the U.S. EPA. Dissenting were Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, two of the court's three Democratic-appointed justices. "This case concerns only standing, not the merits," Kavanaugh wrote in the 48-page opinion that included two dissents. "EPA and California may or may not prevail on the merits in defending EPA's approval of the California regulations. But the justiciability of the fuel producers' challenge to EPA's approval of the California regulations is evident." The Clean Air Act supersedes state laws that regulate motor vehicle emissions, but it allows the EPA to issue a waiver for California. Other states can copy California's stricter standard. The states are Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia. The EPA, when Barack Obama was president, granted a waiver for California, but President Trump partially withdrew it during his first term. When Joe Biden became president in 2021, the EPA reinstated the waiver with the tougher emissions. Last week, Trump signed a bi-partisan congressional resolution to rescind California's electric vehicle mandate. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called this move illegal and will sue over this order. "You couldn't buy any other car except an electric-powered car, and in California, they have blackouts and brownouts," Trump said last week. "They don't have enough electricity right now to do the job. And, countrywide, you'd have to spend four trillion dollars to build the firing plants, charging plants." Gasoline and other liquid fuel producers and 17 Republic-led states sued, arguing California's regulations reduce the manufacturing of gas-powered cars. The lead plaintiff was Diamond Alternative Energy, which sells renewable diesel, an alternative to traditional petroleum-derived diesel. Valero Energy Corp. also joined in the suit. Automakers were involved in the case. California lawyers argue the producers have no legal standing, which requires showing that a favorable court ruling would redress a plaintiff's injury. The EPA said consumer demand for electric cars would exceed California's mandate and hence the regulations wouldn't have an impact. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected the lawsuit. "If invalidating the regulations would change nothing in the market, why are EPA and California enforcing and defending the regulations?" Kavanaugh wrote. "The whole point of the regulations is to increase the number of electric vehicles in the new automobile market beyond what consumers would otherwise demand and what automakers would otherwise manufacture and sell." Sotomayor and Jackson separately wrote the case may become moot. "I see no need to expound on the law of standing in a case where the sole dispute is a factual one not addressed below," Sotomayor wrote. She said she would have sent the case back to the lower court to look at the issue again. Jackson said her colleagues weren't applying the standing doctrine evenhandedly and it can erode public trust in judges. "This case gives fodder to the unfortunate perception that moneyed interests enjoy an easier road to relief in this Court than ordinary citizens. Because the Court had ample opportunity to avoid that result, I respectfully dissent," Jackson wrote. The ruling does not prevent California and other states from enforcing standards, Vickie Patton, general counsel of the Environmental Defense Fund, told The Guardian. "The standards have saved hundreds of lives, have provided enormous health benefits, and have saved families money," Patton said. "While the Supreme Court has now clarified who has grounds to bring a challenge to court, the decision does not affect California's bedrock legal authority to adopt pollution safeguards, nor does it alter the life-saving, affordable, clean cars program itself."
UPI
6 hours ago
- UPI
Damaging, disruptive storms to target NYC, Philly and DC
Storm clouds move in behind One World Trade Center and the Manhattan skyline in New York City on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo The same setup that brought close to 300 wind damage incidents and a dozen reports of tornadoes in the Midwest on Wednesday will focus on the Atlantic Seaboard from Quebec to the Carolinas into Thursday night, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. High humidity levels combined with a ripple in the jet stream will unleash one or more lines of thunderstorms that will progress from the Appalachians and Piedmont areas toward the Atlantic coast from Thursday afternoon to Thursday night. "As the storms approach the airports at the major metro areas from New York City to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., airline delays and ground stops will increase dramatically. Some flights may even be cancelled," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter stated. "Such delays and cancellations at these major airports have a tendency to spread quickly elsewhere in the United States air system because planes and crews are not where they need to be based on the existing schedule, resulting in cascading delays and cancellations." Motorists should be prepared for high water and sudden poor visibility as the storms approach. Roads that tend to flood during downpours should be avoided. Powerful wind gusts in many of the storms will average 60-70 mph. Due to the saturated ground in some areas, strong wind gusts during storms can easily push over trees or break off rotting limbs, leading to power outages. There will be an elevated risk of tornadoes in an area from upstate New York and northwestern New England to parts of central and eastern Quebec. This includes the major Canadian metro areas of Quebec City and Montreal, as well as Burlington, Vermont Albany, New York Pittsfield, Massachusetts and Lebanon, New Hampshire in the northeastern United States. A small number of the storms can also bring pea- to marble-sized hail, which, when combined with strong winds and torrential downpours, can damage crops in fields, plants in backyard gardens and other vegetation. As the storms creep along, flash flooding along small streams and urban areas can occur. Two or three storms may blast some locations into Thursday evening. Storms in the metro areas of Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia, as well as Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, may be somewhat more widely separated but can still be severe in some neighborhoods and lead to damage and travel disruptions into Thursday evening. Some thunderstorms and severe weather are also anticipated from South Carolina to Georgia, Florida and Alabama. However, a few storms in these areas can still pack a punch at the local level with brief wind gusts, torrential rain and a sudden cluster of lightning strikes. As a massive dome of heat builds from this weekend to next week, rounds of severe thunderstorms will erupt on the northern edge from the Midwest to parts of the Northeast.
UPI
6 hours ago
- UPI
Colombia joins BRICS-backed bank in shift toward new financial order
June 20 (UPI) -- Colombia's recent entry into the BRICS-backed New Development Bank marks a significant shift in its foreign and economic policy. With the move, President Gustavo Petro's administration aims to reduce the country's long-standing reliance on Western financing and attract new investment for strategic infrastructure projects. "Colombia officially joins the BRICS New Development Bank. This membership opens new financing opportunities for strategic projects and is a key step toward diversifying alliances and strengthening the country's economy," the Colombian presidency announced Thursday in a post on X. Colombia's membership involves an initial $512 million commitment and makes it the first South American nation to formally join the bank, which is backed by 11 BRICS full members, including China, Russia, India, South Africa and Brazil. Foreign Minister Laura Sarabia welcomed the announcement, saying the move goes beyond financial strategy and reflects broader national goals. "We continue to pave the way for new opportunities for the country," she wrote on X. Beyond access to loans with fewer conditions, the move carries significant symbolic weight. It reflects the Petro administration's interest in redefining Colombia's international role, shifting away from the traditional Washington-Bogotá axis to pursue a more independent path aligned with the Global South. The announcement has sparked both enthusiasm and skepticism among Colombian analysts, who warn of financial risks, geopolitical consequences and the delicate balance Bogotá must maintain with the United States, its primary trading and military partner. The Petro government has defended the move as a pragmatic step amid global economic volatility and the weakening of the traditional multilateral order. Officials also see it as an opportunity to advance strategic projects such as the interoceanic railway -- an ambitious infrastructure initiative aimed at positioning Colombia as a commercial hub between Asia and the Caribbean. Colombia's Foreign Ministry and Finance Ministry officials emphasized that joining the New Development Bank does not signal a break with the Inter-American Development Bank or the International Monetary Fund. "This is about having more options, not replacing allies," Finance Minister Ricardo Bonilla said. Still, reactions in Colombia remain divided. While lawmakers from the ruling coalition praised what they called the country's "financial emancipation," opposition groups and business associations raised concerns about the fiscal burden and reputational risks of aligning with a bloc that includes China and Russia. "Do we want to depend on the yuan or the ruble? What guarantees does a bank dominated by authoritarian regimes offer?" conservative senator and former presidential candidate Enrique Gómez asked. Colombia has long been one of the United States' closest allies in the fight against drug trafficking and in supporting the liberal economic model promoted by Washington. Against that backdrop, closer ties with China have raised tensions. The U.S. State Department has said it will firmly oppose financing for Latin American projects tied to China's Belt and Road Initiative, a global investment strategy backed by Beijing that aims to expand its economic influence through critical infrastructure development around the world. Founded in 2015, the New Development Bank aims to provide financing for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging economies, with fewer political conditions than the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank. To date, it has approved more than $40 billion in funding for 122 infrastructure projects in sectors such as transportation, clean energy and sanitation.
