Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport: Looking good

CEO, François-Régis Le Mière, tells Joe Bates more about recent developments at Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport and his hopes and expections for the year ahead.

With an ongoing upgrade to the domestic terminal and one of the most modern international terminals in Latin America, Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) is looking forward to the future with optimism.

Nuevo Pudahuel – a consortium formed by VINCI Airports (40%), Groupe ADP (45%) and Gestione Concessioni (15%) – pledged to invest in upgrading Chile’s international gateway to the world in its winning bid for the concession to operate the airport in 2015, and it has been true to its word.

Indeed, in the nine years that Nuevo Pudahuel has been responsible for the operation and development of the airport, it has invested over $1 billion on new infrasfructure at SCL.

In addition to the ongoing $60 million redevelopment of the domestic terminal (Terminal 1) and opening a new $1 billion international terminal (Terminal 2), it has invested in four new buildings for government agencies (Customs, local and state police and Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Services), two boulevards, more than 7,000 parking spaces, new cargo warehouses, two bus terminals and new spaces such as a theatre and an events room.

And the new additions will be needed as passenger numbers are now firmly on an upward trajectory again after the global pandemic, reaching 23 million (+25%) in 2023, which is just 5.3% down on the record 24.6 million that passed through the airport in 2019.

Looking back at 2023, does Nuevo Pudahuel CEO, François-Régis Le Mière, consider it to have been a good, bad or average year for Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport?

“I would say that it was a year of recovery and improvement for the airport after the COVID-19 restrictions were finally lifted in the first half of the year,” says Le Mière.

“New airines such as Arajet and Estelar helped boost the traffic recovery as did a number of new destinations and increased frequencies on existing routes, most notably by Chilean airlines LATAM, Sky Airlines and Jetsmart. All, of course, increased the range of services and options for our passengers.

“Last year was also memorable as we began refurbishing works to Terminal 1 after finishing the construction of the new international terminal (T2), which doubled Santiago Airport’s capacity, adding 45 more boarding gates, more than 80 retail and F&B outlets and a number of new services.”

Domestic terminal

SCL unveiled a new look Arrivals area in Terminal 1 in December 2023 (pictured above) as part of a project to equip the facility to handle up to 20 million passengers per annum by 2025.

The “refurbishment and remodelling” project includes the transformation of different areas of the terminal, two new departure zones, as well as the construction of a new T1-A building, which will add more than 17,000sqm of capacity, allowing for an additional eight additional boarding gates and extra retail/F&B outlets.

Speaking in December at the inauguration of the new Arrivals area, Chile’s Minister of Public Works, Jessica López, said: “This facility is fundamental for our economy, since thousands of people, who travel to work or to visit touristic sites in Chile, travel through
this terminal.

“After 11 months of work, we are inaugurating the new national arrivals area, which is within the framework of this final project that will benefit nearly 20 million passengers annually.”

The new Arrivals area doubles the number of baggage claim carousels from six to twelve; and offers a new official transportation area. It also includes new shops and services, is lighter and brighter than before and has improved signage.

Le Mière says: “The Arrivals area is the meeting point for our travellers coming from all over Chile, who represent 60% of all airport passengers.

“Considering the significant increase in travel within the country, due to the rise of the low-cost airlines, both this area and the building as a whole required not only an expansion, but also a modernisation of its services.

“This work is aligned with the commitment of Nuevo Pudahuel and its shareholder groups to provide a high-standard infrastructure and the best passenger experience, with all the services, comfort and technologies our guests require.”

He notes that the modernisation programme coincides with 30th anniversary of the building, which opened in February 1994.

According to Le Mière, the revamped terminal will be more spacious, aeshetically pleasing and boast more shops and services, new flight information screens, and new bathrooms to ensure that its facilities are on a par with those in the international terminal.

The construction of the new T1-A building is the key development of the second phase of the revamp of the domestic terminal, which is the last major project in Nuevo Pudahuel’s master plan for Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport.

Upon completion, the totally remodelled facility will have 42 boarding gates – 20 more than it has today.

International terminal

Since its opening in February 2022, more than 18.3 million passengers have travelled through Terminal 2, which has changed the face of international travel to Santiago by effectively providing the gateway with the modern facilities it needed to take passenger services and its operational capabilities to the next level.

For starters, the 248,000sqm complex boasts three times the service area of its predecessor and the extra space has allowed for the addition of 45 new boarding gates (it previously had 31) and the adoption of a host of new technologies that have more than doubled SCL’s capacity from 16 million to 38 million passengers per annum.

New automated technologies deployed in T2 to enhance the passenger processing procedures include 96 self-check-in kiosks, 64 self-bag-drop positions and 55 e-Gates.

“The new international terminal has proved a game-changer for the airport,” states Le Mière. “Terminal 2 is the most modern passenger building in South America.

“It has upgraded the quality of travel for passengers flying from and to Santiago. It is not only a larger facility designed to provide new standards of comfort for passengers, but also a more modern and innovative building, equipped with nearly 100 self check-in kiosks, over 60 self bag drop counters and a baggage handling system that is able to track all baggage efficiently.

“It is also a more efficient terminal as it incorporates natural lighting, as well as energy and water saving technologies.

“In addition to these features, T2 provides more than 6,000 parking lots, 80 retail and F&B shops and several services that aim to give passengers the best travel experience.

“Finally, the building incorporates lively public boulevards, an events room, two bus terminals, an open 250-seat theater and various spaces for the arts.”

He notes that building the international terminal was a tremendous challenge that took five years to complete, but as a result of its construction, international passengers transiting through the airport today have more space, commercial areas and restaurants than ever before.

Le Mière certainly has no doubt that its facilities have enhanced the airport experience of all passengers travelling on international flights out of Santiago.

A landscaped plaza connects the two terminals on the landside, affording open-air views to the main entrances of both buildings.

Route development

The airport continues to expand its route network with 20 airlines today operating non-stop services to 42 destinations across Chile, Latin America and the Caribbean, Oceania, North America and Europe.

The airlines include home carrier, LATAM Chile, and a host of international carriers such as Air France, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta, KLM, Level and Qantas, many of which have resumed flights to Santiago after suspending services during the global pandemic.

T2’s opening proved pivotal to the launch of five new international routes in its first year of operation and a total of 13 over the last two years.

When Arajet launched services to Santiago from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in the final quarter of 2023, Aerodom invited the Ambassador of the Dominican Republic in Chile, Fausto Liz, and some of the country’s top athletes to the airport to mark the occasion and help give a warm welcome to the 104 passengers on the first flight.

Nuevo Pudahuel notes that the route opens a new option to get to a destination that is loved by Chileans and also “builds a bridge that will strengthen tourism, academic, cultural and commercial links between South America and Oceania with the Caribbean, through two airports in the VINCI Airports network”.

Other routes recently launched at Santiago Airport include a new LATAM Airlines flight to Belo Horizonte, providing the seventh direct service between Chile and Brazil; and the relaunch of Aeromexico services to Mexico City.

Airlines and traffic growth

The high season for traffic is typically the summer months, which fall between December and February in Chile.

It probably won’t come as surprise to learn that hub carrier, LATAM, is the dominant airline at SCL, accounting for around 82% of commercial flights from Santiago and 54.2% of its yearly passenger traffic.

The airport is also a hub for low-cost carriers JetSmart and Sky Airline, which account for 23% and 12% respectively of SCL’s annual passenger total. Other leading airlines at the airport in terms of market share include Copa Airlines (2%) and Aerolíneas Argentinas (1.5%).

LCCs currently account for 36% of the traffic in Santiago, and they have been good for the airport by driving the significant rise in domestic travel over the last eight years.

Traditionally, the most popular international routes served from Santiago are Lima, Buenos Aires, Bogotá, São Paulo, Panama City, Miami and Madrid.

On the basis of the new routes added over the past 18 months and the ones expected to launch this year, Le Mière expects 2024 to be another good year for traffic growth in Santiago.

“We expect to reach 25 million passengers in 2024, surpassing the 24.6 million record set in 2019 by November this year,” enthuses Le Mière.

“During 2024 the frequency of flights will increase by 7.6% compared to 2023 and by 1.5% as opposed to 2019. If this trend continues in the coming years, we should be able to grow our traffic by 10% each year, as we did in 2019.

Ambitions for 2024

In response to what are his aims and ambitions for SCL for the year ahead, Le Mière says: “We are working with a high level of compromise and inspiration to recover traffic levels we lost during the pandemic, not only bringing back airlines, routes and frequencies that were suspended since 2020, but also incorporating new airlines and destinations to increase options for our passengers.

“In order to do so, we keep on implementing new technologies to improve the experience of our passengers, enabling smoother and safer check-in, boarding and arrivals processes.

“In addition to the work in the airport itself, we will continue our sustainable plans, both to reach carbon neutrality in the year 2050, and to certify zero waste and water efficient standard in a few years.

“These goals relate to our project to deploy green hydrogen for ground transport services and airplanes in the future, following the innovation paths of our shareholders VINCI Airports and Groupe ADP.”

He is also aware that Nuevo Pudahuel’s concession for the airport runs out in 2035 and hints that the company would like to extend the deal if it can agree favourable new terms with the government that would allow it more time to recover its investment in SCL.

“The COVID-19 pandemic caused a deep impact in the traffic and, consequently, on recovering our $1 billion plus of investments in SCL during the concession time, which is the foundation of our contract with the Chilean State,” says Le Mière.

“This is currently being analysed in the Arbitral Commission, established by the Chilean Law and its institutions to solve differences between the governments and private concessionaires.

“We are hopeful to find a new balance for our contract and to reach a common solution through dialogue, as we have successfully done so in other matters with the Chilean Government, since it took office, in March 2022.”

Without doubt, Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport is in safe hands under the management and operation of Nuevo Pudahuel, and if all goes well, that will continue for many years to come.