AviancaTaca Seeks Regional Hub

In the absence of plans for the expansion of the El Salvador International Airport, the airline is hoping to settle in another of the region’s capitals.
Comalapa airport is home to AviancaTaca and its air hub in the region, but it is becoming stretched to capacity and inadequate for the airline’s expansion plans.

According to an article in Elsalvador.com, executive vice president of the airline AviancaTaca, Stuart Ortiz, "has not ruled out another country in Central America for establishing a regional hub, especially for travelers moving between the region and the U.S. ... if in the next five years the Government of El Salvador has not initiated a master plan to expand the airport in Comalapa’s capacity to attend to aircraft."

Ortiz said that "the Comalapa airport is becoming a limiting factor, not so much in the air, but on the ground."

"Already today, for example, on the flight banks, of which there are three in San Salvador, one in the morning, one at two in the afternoon and one at night, we started getting aircraft left in remote positions. In other words there were no bridges, no gates to connect and meet the aircraft", he added.

The AviancaTaca executive noted that this is affecting connection times and services, making it essential to implement a master plan for expansion in the AIES as soon as possible.