Aeroregional is expected to operate the short Peru route, but Mariscal La Mar still has to complete airport work and obtain authorization for international operations.

Cuenca is trying to turn a one-time surge of travel interest into something the city has pursued for years: a workable international air route from Mariscal La Mar Airport. Local aviation officials say they are aiming to begin flights to Chiclayo, Peru, around the time of Pope Leo XIV’s visit there in November, with Aeroregional expected to operate the service.

The proposal is attractive partly because it works around Cuenca airport’s biggest physical limitation. Mariscal La Mar has a relatively short runway and is surrounded by urban development, which restricts the size, weight and range of aircraft that can use it comfortably. Chiclayo is only about 671 kilometers from Cuenca, making it a much more realistic international destination than a long-haul route requiring a larger aircraft and heavier fuel load.

The tentative plan is for a flight of less than an hour using smaller aircraft. Authorities want service to begin during the Pope’s scheduled November visit to Peru, which includes Chiclayo, the diocese where Leo XIV spent many years before being called to the Vatican. The travel event provides an obvious initial market, but Cuenca officials say the larger goal is to keep the route operating long enough to determine whether tourism, family travel and commercial demand can sustain it.

The airport still has work to do

The flight is not yet a finished deal. Mariscal La Mar does not currently operate as a fully enabled international airport for routine passenger service, so the Corporación Aeroportuaria de Cuenca must complete required improvements and satisfy the Dirección General de Aviación Civil. A technical working group involving national and local agencies has focused on airport infrastructure, operating schedules, inspection requirements and financing for initial test flights.

Those steps are more than paperwork. International passenger service requires the airport to handle functions that are not necessary for a purely domestic departure, including coordinated immigration, customs and security processes. The aviation authority also has to be satisfied that the runway, apron, terminal operations and emergency arrangements are appropriate for the aircraft and route being proposed.

Officials have been discussing a sustained run of flights rather than a single ceremonial trip. The local objective is to operate consecutive service for roughly two months so the market has time to develop. A brief burst of pilgrims in November could fill the first flights without proving that the route is commercially durable once the Pope has left Peru.

Why Chiclayo could matter after November

For Cuenca travelers, a functioning international route would be significant even if Chiclayo is not their final destination. Today, most international trips from Cuenca require a domestic connection through Quito or Guayaquil, or an overland trip to another airport. A direct Peru link would give residents another way to reach the region and could encourage tour operators to package southern Ecuador and northern Peru together.

Chiclayo also has its own commercial and tourism pull. It serves as a gateway to northern Peru’s archaeological sites and coastal economy, while Cuenca offers a complementary historic-city destination. The route could therefore be marketed in both directions rather than depending only on Ecuadorian outbound traffic.

The November target should still be treated as a goal, not a published timetable. No final launch date was identified in the last check, and certification work remains the gating issue. But the project is more concrete than many previous international-airport aspirations: an airline has been identified, the distance fits Cuenca’s operating constraints, the aviation authority is participating in the technical process, and a specific travel window is driving the work.