Jorge Chávez International Airport

Jorge Chávez International Airport (IATA: LIM, ICAO: SPJC, SPIM) is the main international airport serving Lima, the capital of Peru. It is located in Callao, 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) northwest of Lima Center, the nation's capital city and 17 kilometers (11 mi) from the district of Miraflores. In 2023, the airport served 22,876,785 passengers. Historically, the airport was the hub for Compañía de Aviación Faucett and Aeroperú. Now it serves as a hub for many aviation companies. The airport was named after Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez (1887–1910). It is among the busiest and largest airports in South America.
Comparatively, it is the South American airport best connected to North America in terms of international flights, even surpassing others that have a greater volume of passengers. It is also one of the fastest growing airports in the region, having registered a 13% growth in passenger traffic during 2012. The recent free trade agreements signed by Peru with different Asian countries open the possibility of connecting to the airport with terminals in Asia and Oceania in the near future, that is, in late 2024 when the New Terminal begins operations, also foreseeing a greater number of connections with new cities.
In 2022 it entered the list of the 50 most important air hubs worldwide, occupying position number 47 after having been in position 58 in 2019 according to the international air statistics consultancy OAG.
On April 3, 2023, a second runway and a new control tower came into operation that will facilitate the growth of air movement. By March 2025, a new passenger terminal, currently under construction, will be inaugurated to absorb the increase in people in transit to and from South American cities.
The airport was conceived in 1960 to replace the old Limatambo International Airport, which was located in the San Isidro District, because it had been surrounded by the new residential areas in the east of the city of Lima. Without the modern facilities built later, the first international flight was carried out on June 22, 1960; and four months later, on October 29, 1960, President Manuel Prado Ugarteche inaugurated it with the name Lima International Airport. Its later name is due to the young aviation pioneer, the Peruvian aviator Jorge Chávez.
Lima's first airport was the Limatambo Airport in San Isidro. It ceased operations in 1960 due to a lack of space and capacity, and was replaced by the Lima-Callao International Airport, which was inaugurated by President Manuel Prado Ugarteche on 29 October of the same year. In June 1965, the Lima-Callao airport was renamed the "Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez" after the famous Peruvian aviator, Jorge Chávez Dartnell. In December 1965, the terminal building was officially opened by President Fernando Belaúnde after 11 months of reconstruction. The airport did not receive any renovation or change in infrastructure for 35 years.
After winning a competition to design the plans by the architects Carlos Arana, Antenor Orrego, Juan Torres, Miguel Bao and Luis Vásquez, and 11 months of reconstruction, it was officially reopened on December 30, 1965, by President Fernando Belaúnde. It was considered in its time as one of the most modern airports in Latin America due above all to the very advanced and award-winning architecture of the passenger terminal. The airport did not receive any major changes to its infrastructure for the next 35 years, except for isolated remodeling and expansions in different sectors of the terminal.
When it was in operation, Compañía de Aviación Faucett had its corporate headquarters on the airport premises. Aerolíneas Peruanas was founded in 1956 as Peru's first flag carrier airline but would cease operations in 1971, being replaced by Aeroperú. For a long time, Aeroperú was the largest airline in Peru, and also one of the largest in South America. It would be declared bankrupt in 1999 after the Aeroperú Flight 603 accident, in which a Boeing 757 leaving the airport to Santiago, crashed in the Pacific Ocean, killing all 70 people on board. Along with Aeroperú, Faucett Perú and other large airlines would also cease operations. LATAM Peru, then known as LAN Peru, would become the largest airline in Peru, controlling most of the domestic market.
By decision of the Government of Peru, in 2001, it was awarded a concession to the company Lima Airport Partners (LAP), a German-American consortium of Fraport, with the purpose of undertaking its expansion and comprehensive remodeling. As part of the process, the Peruvian congressional commission held talks with LAP. These conversations resulted in an agreement in which LAP committed to remodeling the airport facilities.The air traffic control is managed by the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC). The Peruvian government engaged Jaime Malagón, Jerome Jakubik, Paul Slocomb, and Víctor M. Marroquín of Baker and McKenzie international law firm, to oversee the changes.
In February 2005, the first phase of remodeling of the terminal was completed, which included the total renovation of the existing infrastructure, the construction of the Peru Plaza Shopping Center and the new concourse with 18 boarding gates, 7 of which have boarding bridges . In June 2007, a four-star hotel, Ramada Costa del Sol, opened at the airport, whose building is directly connected to the passenger terminal by an elevated pedestrian bridge.
In January 2009, the second phase of the terminal expansion was commenced. The terminal has 28 gates, 19 with boarding bridges. In August 2009, the LAP announced that in 2010, the airport would have a new category III instrument landing system to help with landing in foggy conditions. Arquitectonica, a Miami-based architectural office, and Lima Airport Partners planned a second terminal and expansion of the main terminal.
On October 24, 2018, the Peruvian state delivered all the land for the expansion and modernization of the Jorge Chavez airport to the airport operator "Lima Airport Partners". The estimated investment of US$1,200 million includes the construction of a new runway, a control tower and a passenger terminal in addition to the existing one. On the other hand, the state will build a new bridge and highway on the current Santa Rosa Avenue that will connect directly with the "Costa Verde" highway, benefiting a lot of tourists and entrepreneurs who are only going to visit Miraflores and the south. Works was to be completed in 4 years, by the beginning of the year 2023, and will allow the transit of 40 million passengers per year by 2030. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, work was delayed but continued in 2021. The new terminal was expected to be completed on 30 March 2025.
Postponement of New Terminal Operations
As of March 2025, the expansion of Jorge Chávez International Airport has experienced significant developments and adjustments: The inauguration of the new passenger terminal, initially slated for March 30, 2025, has been postponed due to incomplete testing and pending safety verifications. Peru’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Raúl Pérez Reyes, indicated that essential tests, particularly concerning the fuel supply’s safety systems, have not been finalized. Consequently, no new official opening date has been announced.
The airport hosts the Wyndham Costa del Sol hotel, which is located adjacent to the control tower and the arrivals exit. The hotel is built with noise canceling panels. The hotel was inauguration on 12 June 2007.
The Peru Plaza Shopping Center is located near the passenger terminal in the Grand Concourse area. The food court is located near the entrance of the passenger terminal on the second floor and is always open. There is also an ice cream vendor selling some special Peruvian flavours such as chirimoya and lúcuma.
The airport has numerous premium lounges in the departures terminal, such as VIP Peru. For passengers in first class, there is an exclusive salon near the gates, the VIP Club. Some lounges include, Salón VIP Perú, Salón VIP Club and Salón Sumaq VIP Lounge.
In 2010, for the second consecutive year, the Sumaq VIP Lounge, part of the international Priority Pass lounge chain, was named Lounge of the Year worldwide, based on a vote made by the chain's users.
For tourist information, Iperú modules are available, located at national and international arrivals and national and international departures. There, free information material is distributed as well as information about the main tourist destinations in Peru.
As part of the Jorge Chávez International Airport Master Plan, Lima Airport Partners inaugurated the new Air Cargo and Mail Center facilities in 2007. Additionally, the company Frío Aéreo inaugurated a refrigerated cargo warehouse, which handles perishable exports. Later, the complex called Lima Cargo City was built and annexed, an important new logistics center adjacent to the airport, which required an investment of 35 million dollars and was designed to house the main air cargo operators. On 12 May 2009 Lima Cargo City was opened.
Transportation between the airport and the city is provided by taxis, tour buses and vans. Airport Express Lima is the official bus of Jorge Chávez Airport. Line 2 and Line 4 of the Lima Metro are currently under construction. Some companies of taxis and buses offer services to visit the city, some of them transit through the avenues: Faucett, Linea Amarilla, Tomás Valle, De La Marina, Colonial and Costa Verde. Some go north, east, to the historic center and the Financial Center; and others towards Miraflores and the south area like Pachacamac and Surco.
For safety reasons, it is advisable to only take taxis from companies that are located in the national or international arrivals area. You can also request taxi service via smartphone applications, which are secure and have standard rates. There is also the possibility of renting cars, contacting companies also located at international arrivals. They commonly travel through Elmer Faucett Avenues, La Marina Avenue (connects with the districts of southern Lima and those with high hotel offerings such as San Isidro and Miraflores), Tomás Valle (connects with Lima Norte, Lima Este, Rimac and with the Historic Center), Javier Prado, Pan-American Highway North, South, Vía de Evitamiento and Yellow Line.
Connections to the new airport remain unbuilt despite its planned opening in March 2025. The government did not build bridges across the Rímac River, leaving dead-end roads near where a proposed highway is supposed to connect in another three years. Temporary bridges allow access to private cars, but there is no pedestrian access or scheduled bus service as of February 2025. The new Line 4 of the Lima and Callao Metro, expected to open in 2028, will have a station near the old terminal but there are not plans to connect the new airport; the Airport station will be renamed to prevent confusion.
Media related to Jorge Chávez International Airport at Wikimedia Commons