Plans for a new airport in Quito are set to revolutionise travel to South America.

At present commercial aviation to the Ecuadorian capital is hampered by conditions at Tababela airport, where a high altitude and short runway limit capacity.

Pictured: The existing Quito Airport limits aviation in the area

The new development – situated in the Puembo area of the city – will address these concerns, being built at a lower altitude and offering a full 4,100 metre runway.

It will also have the capacity to receive more than four million passengers annually and will have a loading capacity of 270,000 tonnes.

“Following the opening of our new airport, we expect to see business and leisure traffic to Quito and throughout the country grow substantially year-on-year,” said Luz Elena Coloma, Quito Turismo general manager.

Looking to the future, the airport has been designed to allow for further expansion in 2020 and 2030 to meet growing demand.

New Airport

The new airport will extend to cover an area of 3,700 acres, from which 1,330 correspond directly to construction area.

Passenger terminals will covers 38,000 square meters, with the corresponding services established by IATA regulations.

“Quito as a gateway city for the rest of Ecuador and indeed Latin America, will further boost the local economy as the city’s existing infrastructure is well adapted to capitalise on the business the new airport will deliver,” Luz added.

The new airport will open for business in November 2011.

World Mobi

Also in South America today, World Mobi launched its new city guide to Quito. 

World Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the World Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, London.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Quito.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

World.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.