To establish the ‘ranking’ of the most expensive countries to fly to in Latin America, ticket fee, airport taxes and security fees that passengers must pay evaluated.

Passengers traveling by plane to Ecuador must pay $123 for fees, taxes and contributions. This was reported by the ‘Air Transport Competitiveness Index in Latin America,’ published on November 23, 2022.

That makes Ecuador the second most expensive Latin American country for air passengers, only behind Argentina. In that country, passengers must pay $198.

Conversely, the countries in the region with the lowest costs for passengers are Jamaica, Brazil and Chile, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), in charge of the report.

ALTA maintains that in countries with high air prices, a lower percentage of the population accesses the service, which is sometimes the only means of transportation.

Tourism and infrastructure

To establish the “ranking,’ the taxes that fall on air tickets, taxes on tourism and taxes on infrastructure were considered. In addition, airport taxes and security fees were taken into account.

Two of those values ​​that make air tickets more expensive to travel to Ecuador are:

• Tourism tax, called Eco Delta, which represents $50.
• Infrastructure tax, known as Ecuador Tourist Power, which is $10.

Oddly enough, in September 2022, the Ministry of Tourism decreased the Eco Delta rate to $5 and the Ecuador Tourist Power tax to $1, for international airlines that operate new routes in Latacunga and Manta.

The Association of Representatives of Airlines in Ecuador (Arlae) has requested the Government to reduce the two rates for all airlines and airports in the country.

Airport use

The airport tax, which travelers pay for access and use of a terminal, is another value that raises the price of tickets in Ecuador.

Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport is one of the terminals in the region with the most expensive airport tax, reaching $56.30 per passenger in 2022.

On the other hand, the airport tax charged at the José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport in Guayaquil is $28.50 per traveler.

Ecuador is also the most expensive country for airlines because it has the highest landing and parking fees in Latin America.

On average, an aircraft must pay $1,751 to cover these items.

That’s 63 times the landing and parking fee in Costa Rica, where this fee is a mere $28.