Santiago’s new Terminal 1-A officially opens for business

The new Terminal 1-A at Santiago’s Arturo Benítez International Airport has been inaugurated by the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric.

Other VIPs at the airport to celebrate the milestone occasion included Chile’s Minister of Defence, Maya Fernández;  Minister of Public Works, Jessica López; and Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela.

The expansion of T1 has added eight new boarding bridges to the domestic terminal, whose footprint now covers 17,334sqm.

The new Santiago airport T1-A building, which involved an investment of $20.2 million, is part of the airport’s T1 modernisation project.

This plan includes the refurbishing of various spaces, such as boarding and arrival zones, and a new baggage claim area, as well as an expansion of capacity, from 22 to 40 boarding gates when the works are completed, at the end of next year.

The T1-A building will also incorporate four stores, restaurants, services, children’s games and art.

Due to this increase, T1 will be able to serve up to 20 million passengers who travel between Santiago and 17 destinations within Chile each year.

Chilea’s president highlighted that with this new building “millions of Chileans will be able to visit, as a result of the material progress of our country, the beautiful corners that our country has to offer. This is reactivation, it is dynamism of the economy, it is work, it is happiness for families who travel, it is good news for Chile.”

Along with the new T1-A, the airport also put into operation the new western boarding area, which will operate with eight security control machines and six PDI document checking booths for flights to Easter Island.

“After the delivery of a new international terminal in 2022, we are proud to offer Chilean domestic passengers a brand new facility with modern and spacious infrastructure and state-of-the-art equipment,” enthused Valerie Vesque-Jeancard, chairwoman of the board of Nuevo Pudahuel and managing director of VINCI Airports.

“The T1-A building will provide an enhanced quality of service immediately, especially for travellers on the move for Fiestas Patrias, Chilean national holidays.

“With this new achievement, VINCI Airports continues fulfilling its commitments towards Chile, in the framework of the concession contract signed in 2015.”