Expansion of Santiago’s international airport

Passenger traffic in Chile has increased significantly. Last year, there were 24.5 million air travellers, and 23.2 million of them passed through Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez (SCL) airport, the country’s most important.

Construction work on a new SCL terminal with an area of over 200,000 square meters and additional parking spaces is in full swing. The forecast that air traffic at SCL Airport will continue to increase in the coming years prompted the Chilean government to plan for a second expansion, set to start in 2021 after the completion of the current work. This should increase the capacity from 16 million passengers per year – which is currently being exceeded – to 38 million passengers.

Reduction of airport taxes in Chile
The Chilean government has announced a new reduction in airport charges for national and international flights in order to further reduce fares and promote greater competition in the market, a direct offset in costs for the millions of passengers travelling to and throughout the country. This ruling complements the reduction announced last August and implemented in October, which provided for a 20% tax reduction for domestic flights and a 13% reduction for international flights.