Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport sits on the low, arid island of Baltra in the Galápagos archipelago, and is the principal gateway for visitors flying in from mainland Ecuador. Operated by ECOGAL as the world's first purpose-built ecological airport, it offers a single long hard-surfaced runway with an ILS approach, making it a straightforward if remote VFR and IFR destination for simulator pilots exploring the islands.
Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport (ICAO SEGS, IATA GPS) serves the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador. It is operated by ECOGAL under a long-term concession and is promoted as the world's first ecological airport, built largely from recycled materials and run on renewable energy. For a simulator pilot the field is notable both for its isolated island setting and for its single long runway equipped with an ILS, making it a useful and visually distinctive stop when flying around the Galápagos.
The airport lies on Isla Baltra in Galápagos Province, Ecuador, at coordinates 0.4539 S, 90.2658 W. It is the main air access point for the Galápagos Islands, with the nearest other aerodrome, at Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, some 88 km (47 nm) to the southeast. The field is surrounded by open ocean and the low, scrubby terrain typical of Baltra, with no other airports or significant controlled airspace features noted in the immediate vicinity.
Seymour has one physical runway, 14/32, of 7,882 ft with a hard surface. Runway 14 is equipped with an ILS. Field elevation is 174 ft.
The tower callsign operates on 122.2 MHz. Runway 14 carries an ILS approach for instrument arrivals.
During the Second World War the field, then known as Seymour Island Airfield, was operated by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force as part of the defence of the South American coastline and the Panama Canal against Japanese submarine activity. American personnel first arrived on 9 April 1942, and the airfield hosted a succession of fighter and bombardment squadrons, including the 52d and 51st Fighter Squadrons flying P-40 Warhawks, and several squadrons of the 6th and 40th Bombardment Groups flying LB-30/B-24 Liberators, through to 1945. Most personnel were withdrawn by 30 September 1945, the military facility was deactivated on 30 April 1946, and a residual communications unit stood down on 29 February 1948. Many of the wartime USAAF aircraft parking hardstands survive today, along with an unused northwest/southeast runway abandoned after the war that remains in reasonable condition. The island itself, South Seymour, was named in honour of George Francis Seymour, Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Station from 1844 to 1847. In 2008 plans were announced for a redevelopment of the airport with construction beginning in 2012, resulting in the present ecological terminal, built at a cost of just over 24 million US dollars from recycled steel tubing sourced from Amazon oil-drilling operations, and incorporating solar power, wind generation and seawater desalination.
The airport is operated by ECOGAL under a fifteen-year concession and is marketed as a fully carbon-neutral, ecological facility built from a high proportion of recycled materials. Scheduled airline service is provided by Avianca Ecuador and LATAM Ecuador, linking Baltra with Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca on the Ecuadorian mainland. The terminal has been fitted with self-service check-in kiosks and off-airport check-in facilities at the Baltra Island cruise terminal, reflecting the airport's role as a hub for both air travellers and cruise passengers visiting the Galápagos. No sim-specific scenery availability is noted in the sources reviewed.