Carriel Sur International Airport
Encyclopedia
Carriel Sur International Airport is located in Concepción
, approximately 500 km southwest of Santiago
. It is the second largest airport in Chile and serves domestic traffic for LAN Airlines
and Sky Airline
. Due to its close proximity to Arturo Merino Benitez it also serves as a primary alternate airport for it, usually receiving international traffic from Santiago as the airport closes due to weather.
, as it became imperative to count with a modern airport to link Chile's south-central region with the rest of the country. The airport was finally opened to the public on January 3, 1968.
No airline accidents have been recorded in relation with the airport, although bird ingestions during takeoff have occurred causing rejected takeoffs or emergency returns from departing aircraft. No casualties derived from such bird ingestions have been recorded.
protocols, in coordination with Santiago's Area Control Center. Carriel Sur's control tower provides ground, tower and approach services on a 24-hour basis and is staffed by three air traffic controllers at all times.
The airport has several navigation aids:
Concepción, Chile
Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...
, approximately 500 km southwest of Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
. It is the second largest airport in Chile and serves domestic traffic for LAN Airlines
LAN Airlines
LAN Airlines S.A. is an airline based in Santiago, Chile. LAN is currently positioned amongst the largest airlines in Latin America, serving Latin America, United States, the Caribbean, Oceania, and Europe. It is a member of the Oneworld airline alliance...
and Sky Airline
Sky Airline
Sky Airline is an airline based at Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport in Santiago, Chile. It is the second largest airline in the country behind rival LAN Airlines, and mostly relies on domestic services.- History :...
. Due to its close proximity to Arturo Merino Benitez it also serves as a primary alternate airport for it, usually receiving international traffic from Santiago as the airport closes due to weather.
History
Although plans of building an airport near Concepción date back to 1954, construction began only in 1960, shortly after the May 22nd earthquakeGreat Chilean Earthquake
The 1960 Valdivia earthquake or Great Chilean Earthquake of Sunday, 22 May 1960 is to date the most powerful earthquake ever recorded on Earth, rating 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale...
, as it became imperative to count with a modern airport to link Chile's south-central region with the rest of the country. The airport was finally opened to the public on January 3, 1968.
No airline accidents have been recorded in relation with the airport, although bird ingestions during takeoff have occurred causing rejected takeoffs or emergency returns from departing aircraft. No casualties derived from such bird ingestions have been recorded.
Airlines
Terminal building
In 2000, the original terminal building was decommissioned and turned over to the aviation authority for administrative use. A new terminal, operated by AEROSUR S.A., was opened north of the latter allowing the installation of jetways(4), Customs and Immigration service, a VIP lounge and a duty free store. The old ramp was not decommissioned, thus the amount of parking spaces increased from 5 to 10 (the original 5 plus 4 jetways and one remote parking adjacent to jetway 4)Navaids, ATC services
Despite being the second most important airport in Chile, Carriel Sur does not count with radar service for approach/departure control. This service is provided using non-radarProcedural control
Procedural control is a method of providing air traffic control services without the use of radar. It is used in regions of the world, specifically sparsely-populated land areas and oceans, where radar coverage is either prohibitively expensive or is simply not feasible...
protocols, in coordination with Santiago's Area Control Center. Carriel Sur's control tower provides ground, tower and approach services on a 24-hour basis and is staffed by three air traffic controllers at all times.
The airport has several navigation aids:
- Category I ILS, runway 02. Localizer frequency 109.90 MHz, designator I-CEP
- High-Altitude Doppler VOR with DME equipment, for non-precision approaches to both runways. Frequency 114.30 MHz, designator CAR.
- Non-directional beacon/Localizer Outer Marker, located 5 nautical miles (9 km) south of runway 02's thereshold.
- Marker beacon/Localizer middle marker, located one-half mile (1 km) south of runway 02's thereshold.