Suspension at Jorge Chávez
He Jorge Chavez International Airport reported this Sunday that its runway edge lighting system, managed by the Peruvian Airports and Commercial Aviation Corporation (Corpac) of the Ministry of Transportation, is out of service, so flight departures and arrivals have been temporarily suspended.
Through a message broadcast on “We are awaiting confirmation from Corpac for the prompt restoration of service,” the statement reads.
The state company later confirmed that the runway lighting system, essential for defining runway boundaries, improving safety in low visibility conditions and facilitating night operations at airports, suffered “a malfunction.”
Likewise, he specified that his team of professionals manages a prompt solution. “We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers; However, we must prioritize the operational safety of flights,” said Corpac, which operates a network of 15 Peruvian air terminals.
The journalist Paolo Benza, from The Contra, reported “absolute chaos in the Peruvian sky.” Arrival flights, both national and international, are diverted to the airports of Trujillo and Pisco, where “passengers cannot get off the plane because there are no Customs or Immigration.”
Benza highlighted that flights from cities such as Miami, Madrid and Panama are being redirected, a situation that he considers unprecedented. He also pointed out that the planes orbit secondary, unprepared airports, waiting to land.
He recalled that the Jorge Chávez has a second runway and a new control tower already built. “It has been used before for emergencies, but [actualmente] It cannot be activated” due to an apparent flaw in the design, he noted.
According to Panorama, more than a hundred people wait at the airfield facilities for the arrival of passengers. Since the incident became public, after 7:30 p.m., some passengers informed RPP about the problems they face. Several users mentioned that they have been waiting on the plane for more than an hour. Latam It was one of the first airlines to alert its customers of the incident.
Based on official sources, Benza indicated that the Jorge Chávez runway will be closed at least until 10:00 p.m. Given the collapse of alternative airports, options are being used in Chile.
A flight from Juliaca to Lima made an emergency landing in Arica, while a flight from Buenos Aires to Lima had to return and is looking for a place to get off in Chile. The Cusco airport extended its operating hours to wait for Corpac to solve the problem and allow the flights to be released.
A route of Delta Airlines Coming from Atlanta, which was already over Piura, it was diverted to Panama, a situation that the journalist described as “very dangerous” due to the planes with limited fuel. Likewise, a United Airlines flight from New York was diverted to Guayaquil.
In April 2023, Peru inaugurated the new control tower and second runway as part of an expansion of the airfield that includes the construction of a new passenger terminal. The work, with an investment of more than 2,000 million dollars, was highlighted by the president Dina Boluarte as an important milestone for the country.
