Matecaña International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Matecaña | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | The city ofPereira | ||||||||||
| Serves | Pereira, Colombia | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 4,418 ft / 1,347 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 4°48′45″N75°44′25″W / 4.81250°N 75.74028°W /4.81250; -75.74028 | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  PEI Location of airport in Colombia | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2015) | |||||||||||
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| Sources: GCM[1] Google Maps[2] | |||||||||||
Matecaña International Airport (Spanish:Aeropuerto Internacional de Matecaña,IATA:PEI,ICAO:SKPE) is aninternational airport serving the city ofPereira,Colombia. It also serves as analternate airport for the cities ofArmenia,Cartago,Manizales,Medellín,Cali, andBogotá.
The airport lies along the edge of a deep ravine, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) west of Pereira. There are steep dropoffs on the sides and ends of the runway. There is high terrain in all quadrants except south.
The airport was built between 1944 and 1947. Its first official flight was a C-47 piloted by captain Luis Carlos Londoño Iragorrion on 24 July 1947. The city ofPereira owns and manages the terminal building, while the operations are in charge ofAerocivil, being the only airport in Colombia under these conditions. It handles 75 percent of passengers in thecoffee region, with an average of 30 daily commercial operations to different destinations.
The passenger terminal is a four-level building built in the early 1970s. The first level includes parking positions for the airplanes, and a baggage claim area. The second/main floor has the check-in counters, airline offices, and domestic and international arrival doors. The third floor has the general waiting room, toilets, stores, restaurants and cafés, free Internet Wi-Fi, a devices charging station, and a VIP lounge operated byAvianca. Also on this level is security access for the two domestic waiting rooms. The international waiting room is here, with an independent door to the duty-free and security areas. In 1991 twojetways were installed from the domestic waiting rooms. On the fourth level are the airport general offices, a chapel, and two footbridges connecting the terminal with the car parking area, which is in front of the main building.
A new cargo terminal was built to replace the original built in 1978. The new control tower is Colombia's second-most-advanced, behind the tower inEl Dorado Airport ofBogotá, also recently built.
The terminal has easy access to public transportation, includingtaxi area, general bus service and an exclusivestop for thebus rapid transit system,Megabus.
Currently, the airport is under a full renovation to improveaviation safety, comfort, and security for users. A 21,000 m2 (68,897 ft2) completely new terminal is planned.[citation needed]
In 2014, the runway was extended to 2,205 meters to allow for full certification as an international airport.
In December 2016, the CSS Construction Company won the contract to demolish the current terminal and build the new terminal building. This is a public-private alliance in which the CSS company will operate the airport for 20 years while still returning some revenue to the city government. The construction began in November 2017. CSS Construction also has a 30 percent stake in the renovation at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota.
Matecaña International Airport has flights to ten domestic and international destinations. It offers connections to different cities in the Americas and Europe through El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá,JFK in the United States (Seasonally), andTocumen International Airport inPanama City. The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at the airport:
