Latest news with #JorgeChávezInternationalAirport
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lima's new airport continues to face passenger complaints
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.
UPI
5 days ago
- Business
- UPI
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.
Irish Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Michaella McCollum says it's 'alarming' young women still targeted by drug gangs
'Peru Two' drug mule Michaella McCollum has said it's alarming that young women are still being targeted by drugs gangs to transport narcotics. The Tyrone woman, who spent three years in a jail in Peru on smuggling charges, made the remarks in the wake of the arrest of Bella May Culley, 18, and Charlotte May Lee, 21 for alleged drug smuggling. Michaella, part of the infamous Peru Two with Scottish woman Melissa Reid, had been sentenced to more than six years' imprisonment in 2013, but was granted early release in 2016. The two were caught at Jorge Chávez International Airport in August 2013 with 11kg of cocaine in their suitcases hidden in cereal packets. It was worth almost €2 million. Michaella appeared on TV show Good Morning Britain yesterday to discuss the recent high-profile arrests of Culley in Georgia and Lee in Sri Lanka. Host Richard Madeley said: "More and more, and more, mostly young people, a lot of them women, are taking phenomenal risks in taking Class A drugs into countries such as Bali, who have the death penalty if you get caught. "What is your reading of this? What is happening?" Dungannon woman Michaella, 31, replied: "I feel like it's something that's always been happening... "I think it's alarming that it's all young girls, it's similar stories, they've all travelled to a country alone that they haven't been to before and their families are filing missing person reports and they wind up in prison. "I mean, it's a similar story to my situation." She added: "I had went to Ibiza when I was 19, it was the first time I had ever left the UK. It was my first holiday. "Within two weeks, I started making friendships and relationships, and I made a friendship with this group of people that ended up luring me into trafficking drugs." Host Susanna Reid asked: "When you say luring you into, what did they do?" Michaella replied: "I had this safe group of people... they didn't take drugs, they didn't take alcohol, so I was inclined to spend more time with them and I guess I trusted them because.. they didn't party, they didn't do anything." She added: "These organisations, they have people that are pickers, and their job mainly is to pick people to become mules. "They will target their vulnerabilities." Michaella revealed she was offered £5,000 (€5,930) to smuggle drugs. On how she expected to take the drugs, Michaella continued: "They didn't communicate this until the very last moment. They told me I would take one package... "When I arrived at Peru, I realised there was 16 packages that I had to hide in my suitcase. "I didn't have enough space in my suitcase, and I was just like, 'What am I supposed to do?' "Do I leave these drugs now and just go?' "You are under this fear of what to do. "The information, they feed it to you little by little."
Saudi Gazette
17-03-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Fisherman rescued after 95 days adrift eating turtles
LIMA — A Peruvian fisherman who survived 95 days lost at sea in the Pacific Ocean by eating turtles, birds and cockroaches has been rescued and reunited with his family. Maximo Napa Castro, 61, set off for what should have been a two-week fishing trip from the coastal town of Marcona, on the southern Peruvian coast, on 7 December. Ten days in, a storm blew his boat off course, leaving him adrift with dwindling supplies. His family launched a search, but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him. It was not until Wednesday that the Ecuadorian patrol vessel Don F found him 1,094km (680 miles) from the coast, dehydrated and in a critical condition. Maximo survived by catching rainwater in his boat and eating whatever he could an emotional reunion with his brother in Paita, near the Ecuadorian border, on Friday, he described how he had eaten roaches and birds before resorting to sea turtles. His last 15 days were spent without of his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, gave him the strength to endure, Castro said."I thought about my mother everyday. I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance."His mother, Elena, told local media that, while her relatives remained optimistic during her son's disappearance, she had begun to lose his rescue, Castro was taken to Paita for medical assessment before being flown to the Peruvian capital, at Jorge Chávez International Airport, he was met by his daughter, Inés Napa, in an emotional reunion surrounded by a media scrum. She welcomed him home with a bottle of pisco, Peru's national his home district of San Andrés in the Ica region, neighbors and relatives told the Peruvian media agency RPP they decorated the streets in niece, Leyla Torres Napa, said the family planned to celebrate his birthday, which passed while he was lost at told the agency: "The day of his birth was unique because all that he could eat [while at sea] was a small cookie, so it is very important for us that we celebrate because, for us, he has been reborn."Last year, Russian Mikhail Pichugin was rescued after spending more than two months adrift in a small inflatable boat in the Sea of Okhotsk, to the east of José Salvador Alvarenga, a Salvadoran fisherman, endured an extraordinary 14-month ordeal adrift in the Pacific out from Mexico's coast in late 2012, he was eventually found in the Marshall Islands in early 2014, and also survived on rainwater and turtles. — BBC
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Yahoo
Fisherman rescued after 95 days adrift eating turtles
A Peruvian fisherman who survived 95 days lost at sea in the Pacific Ocean by eating turtles, birds and cockroaches has been rescued and reunited with his family. Maximo Napa Castro, 61, set off for what should have been a two-week fishing trip from the coastal town of Marcona, on the southern Peruvian coast, on 7 December. Ten days in, a storm blew his boat off course, leaving him adrift with dwindling supplies. His family launched a search, but Peru's maritime patrols were unable to locate him. It was not until Wednesday that the Ecuadorian patrol vessel Don F found him 1,094km (680 miles) from the coast, dehydrated and in a critical condition. Maximo survived by catching rainwater in his boat and eating whatever he could find. In an emotional reunion with his brother in Paita, near the Ecuadorian border, on Friday, he described how he had eaten roaches and birds before resorting to sea turtles. His last 15 days were spent without food. Thinking of his family, including his two-month-old granddaughter, gave him the strength to endure, Mr Castro said. "I thought about my mother everyday. I'm thankful to God for giving me a second chance." His mother, Elena, told local media that, while her relatives remained optimistic during her son's disappearance, she had begun to lose hope. After his rescue, Mr Castro was taken to Paita for medical assessment before being flown to the Peruvian capital, Lima. There, at Jorge Chávez International Airport, he was met by his daughter, Inés Napa, in an emotional reunion surrounded by a media scrum. She welcomed him home with a bottle of pisco, Peru's national drink. In his home district of San Andrés in the Ica region, neighbours and relatives told Peruvian media agency RPP they decorated the streets in celebration. His niece, Leyla Torres Napa, said the family planned to celebrate his birthday, which passed while he was lost at sea. She told the agency: "The day of his birth was unique because all that he could eat [while at sea] was a small cookie, so it is very important for us that we celebrate because, for us, he has been reborn." Last year, Russian Mikhail Pichugin was rescued after spending more than two months adrift in a small inflatable boat in the Sea of Okhotsk, to the east of Russia. Similarly, José Salvador Alvarenga, a Salvadoran fisherman, endured an extraordinary 14-month ordeal adrift in the Pacific Ocean. Setting out from Mexico's coast in late 2012, he was eventually found in the Marshall Islands in early 2014, and also survived on rainwater and turtles. Russian man rescued after spending 67 days adrift
