José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport guide

Formerly known as Simón Bolívar International Airport, the facility's runway opened on June 22, 1962, when a Pan American Grace Airways DC-8 became the first jet to land in Ecuador while the terminal was still under construction. The airport took its current name, honouring the Ecuadorian poet, first mayor of Guayaquil and former head of state José Joaquín de Olmedo, when a new two-level terminal of roughly 50,000 square metres opened on July 27, 2006.

The airport sits on Avenida de las Américas, a short drive north of downtown Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city and main port. As the country's second-busiest airport, it anchors Avianca Ecuador's and LATAM Ecuador's coastal operations and is the mainland transfer point for domestic flights continuing on to the Galápagos Islands, connecting through Baltra and San Cristóbal. European long-haul service reaches Amsterdam with KLM and Madrid with Iberia and Air Europa.

The terminal includes a 14,000 square-metre cargo facility and was the first airport in Ecuador to introduce a hidden-disabilities assistance program for passengers with non-visible conditions. Bloomberg BusinessWeek named it the Best Airport in Latin America in 2008 and 2009.