Matecaña International Airport
| Matecaña International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional Matecaña | |||||||||||
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| IATA: PEI – ICAO: SKPE | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | The city of Pereira | ||||||||||
| Location | Pereira, Colombia | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 4,416 ft / 1,346 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 04°48′45″N 75°44′22″W / 4.81250°N 75.73944°W | ||||||||||
| Website | www.aeromate.gov.co | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  PEI Location of airport in Colombia | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2015) | |||||||||||
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Matecaña International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Matecaña) (IATA: PEI, ICAO: SKPE) is located in the city of Pereira, Colombia. It also serves the cities of Armenia, Cartago, Manizales, Medellín, Cali and Bogotá in emergency situations.
Information
The airport was built between 1944 and 1947, receiving its first and official flight on July 24th 1947, the airplane, a C-47 piloted by captain Luis Carlos Londoño Iragorri. The city of Pereira owns and manages the terminal building, while the operations are in charge of Aerocivil, being the only airport in Colombia under these conditions. It also is controlling the 75% of people traveling in the coffee region, with an average 30 daily commercial operations to different destinations,
The passenger terminal consists in a four level building, built in the early 70s; the first level includes parking positions for the airplanes and baggage claim area, on the second and main floor are located the check-in area, airlines offices, domestic and international arrival doors, on the third floor are the general waiting room, toilets, plenty stores, restaurants and cafes, free internet Wi-Fi and a devices charging station is also available for users, a VIP lounge operated by Avianca, on this level it's also located the access for the two domestic waiting rooms including a security area for each door, also the international room is located with an independent door the duty free and security area. In 1991 two jetways entered in service from the domestic waiting rooms.On the fourth level, you can also find the airport general offices, a chapel and two footbridges that connect the terminal with the car parking area which is located in front of the main building.
A new cargo terminal was built in order to replace the original built in 1978. The new control tower is the colombia's second most advanced, behind the tower in El Dorado Airport of Bogotá, also recently built.
The terminal has easy access to public transportation, including taxi area, general bus service and an exclusive stop for the bus rapid transit system, Megabus.
Currently, the airport is under a full renovation process, improving aviation safety, comfort and security for users, the runway length was extended to 2.280 meters (7.480 ft), and a 21.000m² (68897 ft²) completely new terminal is expected to be built.
Airlines and destinations
Matecaña International airport has flights to seven domestic and international destinations, also offers the possibility to connect to different cities in America and Europe through El dorado airport in Bogotá and Tocumen Airport in Panamá city. Currently different airlines are being invited to operate in Pereira's airport, some fo them are JetBlue, Spirit, American Airlines, Dynamic Airways.
International
| City | Airport | Airline | Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City | Tocumen International Airport | Copa Airlines Colombia | Embraer E190, Boeing B737 | |
| New York City | John F. Kennedy International Airport | Avianca | Airbus A319 | vía CTG |
Domestic
Seasonal destinations
| City | Airport | Airline | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Andrés Island | Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport | Avianca** , Copa Airlines | A319, A320, E190 |
** Avianca offers seassonal flight to San Andrés, however, the airline operates charter flights to the island three times per week.
Previous destinations
External links
- Airport information for SKPE at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.