The concession company Andean Airports of Peru announced in early May the suspension of operations of the Inca Manco Capac Airport in Juliaca until the 8th of that month; however, constant extensions were arranged that have caused the air terminal to continue without receiving flights for more than a month, harming tourism in the Puno region.
Carlos Canales, president of the National Chamber of Tourismnoted that due to the aforementioned closure, a loss of S / 200 million is calculated until the last Friday.
On the other hand, the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Puno (CCPP) pointed out that the constant cancellations and rescheduling of flights have generated not only discomfort and uncertainty in users, but also economic losses that exceed S/420 million in investments, affecting trade, agriculture, crafts, the academic sector, health , among others, directly and indirectly.
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RESPONSIBILITIES
Canales blamed the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) and the Supervisory Agency for Investment in Transportation Infrastructure for Public Use (Ositran), who approve the work plans proposed by the concessionaire.
“We have spoken with the concessionaire company and it tells us that they have presented, since January, repair plans for the runway that was in very poor condition and that caused two aircraft to paralyze the airport for a whole weekend because they broke down.“, said.
Thus, he explained that, although the company presented its work plan, it is the authorities of the MTC and Ositran who delay the approval.
“More than three years ago the master plan for the Juliaca airport was presented and it is paralyzed. The problem is that both entities do not have competent or specialized officials and must hold tenders to hire specialists through third parties, which takes time, the tenders are dropped and the plans are not approved.”, he explained.
PARALYZED REACTIVATION
Manuel Quiñones, former president of the Puno Chamber of Tourismpointed out that the reactivation of the sector was beginning in the region, which receives 30% of tourists from Cusco and that today that tourism has fallen to zero.
“There is no security for tourists and they are canceling their visits to Lake Titicaca. Unfortunately tourism has been deactivated here”I note.
The CCPP urged the authorities to accelerate the authorization of air connectivity due to the enormous losses generated by the cancellation and suspension of tourist packages in high season.
“During the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this sector was one of the first to paralyze its activities and the last to start with the economic reactivation”, they pointed out
knew that
- According to the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Puno, this is one of the regions that is part of the traditional circuit with the highest tourist influx in Peru.
- The damage to the region is quite large because it was already a destination with very little recovery in inbound tourism, said Canales.
