Lima Airport Unveils Ambitious Hub Expansion Plans
Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport closed 2024 having served more than 24.5 million passengers across 60 destinations with 22 airline partners, underscoring its rapid growth amid Peru’s tourism boom. As visitor numbers climb, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism has highlighted enhanced air connectivity as a cornerstone of economic development. To capitalize on this momentum, airport operator Lima Airport Partners is pressing ahead with its multi-billion-dollar Lima Airport City project, designed to transform the facility into a premier regional gateway.
The first phase of the project will expand capacity to 30 million passengers per year, adding new gates, lounges and retail spaces, before a subsequent build-out lifts annual handling to 40 million. Central to these enhancements is a second runway, recently commissioned to accommodate larger aircraft and ease peak-period congestion. The additional runway not only allows more flights each day but also improves slot availability, enabling Lima to negotiate increased service frequencies with existing carriers and to attract new long-haul operators.
Speaking at Routes Americas 2025 in Nassau, Bahamas, Norbert Onkelbach, chief commercial officer of Lima Airport Partners, emphasized that cultivating deeper relationships with current airline partners is a priority. “We are focused on growing services with existing carriers by boosting flight frequencies and increasing seat capacity,” he said. “The new runway is a game-changer, and our conversations here are laying the groundwork for expanded hub connectivity across Latin America, North America, Canada and Europe.”
Onkelbach noted that the airport’s strategic geographic position—linking the Pacific coast with inland South America—positions Lima as an ideal north-south connector. “For us, this conference is very important to speak to airlines and develop traffic within Latin Americas,” he explained. “We see ourselves as a hub that is growing in South America, connecting north and south.”
Recent network gains reflect these efforts. In 2024, LATAM Airlines Group inaugurated new nonstop services from Lima to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Rosario, Argentina, opening fresh leisure and business routes. Turkish Airlines has also announced it will launch thrice-weekly flights to Lima in June 2025, marking its first South American destination and signifying rising interest from Middle Eastern carriers.
The airport’s participation at Routes Americas enables it to showcase its evolving infrastructure and commercial opportunities directly to airline decision-makers. Onkelbach praised the event’s balance of scale and intimacy, which he said facilitates candid discussions. “Routes Americas is always open but still intimate enough that you can speak to people, meet and discuss things in a straightforward way,” he remarked.
Beyond physical upgrades, Lima Airport Partners is investing in digital enhancements to streamline passenger flow, including automated check-in kiosks, biometric boarding gates and real-time baggage tracking. A refreshed commercial strategy will introduce global retail brands alongside local artisans, creating a distinctive Peruvian sense of place for travellers transiting through the airport.
As Lima Airport City moves forward, local authorities and tourism boards are aligning promotional campaigns to market Lima as more than a stopover. Cultural tourism initiatives, gastronomy festivals and regional trail development are being integrated with air service growth to extend visitor stays and drive economic impact beyond the terminal.
With nearly 1.2 million two-way passengers recorded on Lima-U.S. routes in 2024 and strong rebound trends in domestic travel, Jorge Chávez International Airport is poised to cement its role as Peru’s chief aviation hub. Its phased expansion, runway capacity boost and burgeoning route network signal a new era for Lima—a city ready to welcome more tourists, strengthen air connectivity and fuel the nation’s economic growth for years to come.
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