Misplaced Pages

Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport
IATA: GPS ICAO: SEGS
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Serves	Baltra, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Elevation AMSL	207 ft / 63 m
Coordinates	00°27′14″S 90°15′57″W / 0.45389°S 90.26583°W / -0.45389; -90.26583
Website	www.ecogal.aero
Map
GPSLocation of airport in the Galápagos Islands
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 14/32 2,401 7,877 Asphalt
Source: WAD GCM

Seymour Galapagos Ecological Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Ecológico Galápagos Seymour) (IATA: GPS, ICAO: SEGS) is an airport serving the island of Baltra, one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.

Name

The airport preserves part of Baltra's other name, South Seymour Island, named in honour of George Francis Seymour, Commander-in-chief of the Pacific Station (1844-1847).

Facilities

The terminal, which consists of recycled steel tubes taken from oil drilling operations in the Amazon, is spread over 6,000 square meters and required an investment of just over $24 million. The new complex will use clean, renewable technologies such as solar energy, wind farms, and seawater desalination, among other environmental innovations.

According to ECOGAL, the company that operates the terminal, and the construction of the new airport took into account the surrounding environment and sought to make a minimal impact on the ecosystem. The project was announced in 2008, with construction commencing in 2012. The purpose of the redevelopment from the outset was to create the world's first ecological airport. ECOGAL was awarded a 15-year concession to administer and operate the airport.

History

During World War II, the airport (then known as Seymour Island Airfield) was used by the United States Army Air Forces Sixth Air Force defending the South American coastline and the Panama Canal against Japanese submarines. The first American personnel arrived on 9 April 1942. Military flying units assigned to the airport were:

• 52d Fighter Squadron (32d Fighter Group), 5 June-1 December 1942 (P-40 Warhawk)
• 51st Fighter Squadron (32d Fighter Group, later XXVI Fighter Command) 9 December 1942 – 4 March 1944 (P-40 Warhawk)

Detachments stationed at Salinas Afld, Ecuador, and Talara Afld, Peru, December 1942-March 1943

• 3d Bombardment Squadron (6th Bombardment Group) 4 May 1942 – 12 March 1943 (LB-30 (B-24A) Liberator)
• 29th Bombardment Squadron (6th Bombardment Group) 13 May 1943 – 10 April 1944; 26 April–October 1945 (B-24 Liberator)
• 45th Bombardment Squadron (40th Bombardment Group) 18 February-22 May 1943 (LB-30 (B-24A) Liberator)
• 74th Bombardment Squadron (VI Bomber Command) 21 August 1944 – 13 February 1945 (B-24 Liberator)
• 397th Bombardment Squadron (VI Bomber Command) 7 April 1944 – 6 February 1945 (B-24 Liberator)

By 30 September 1945, most personnel were withdrawn and only a housekeeping staff remained. The military facility was deactivated on 30 April 1946, leaving a communications unit which deactivated on 29 February 1948. Today many of the former USAAF aircraft parking hardstands still exist, along with an unused NW/SE runway that was abandoned after the war but remains in reasonable condition.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Busiest domestic routes from Seymour Airport (2018)

Rank	City	Passengers	Top carriers
1	Quito, Pichincha	291,765	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, Aeroregional
2	Guayaquil, Guayas	229,034	Avianca Ecuador, LATAM Ecuador, Aeroregional

See also

• Transport in Ecuador
• List of airports in Ecuador

References

1. World Aero Data for SEGS
2. Airport information for Seymour Airport at Great Circle Mapper.
3. Grant, K. Thalia (December 2024). "HMS Daphne In Galapagos: Its Visit And Legacy". Galapagos Research. 71: 4–19.
4. "https://www.ecuadorencifras.gob.ec/transporte/"

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links

• OurAirports - Seymour
• SkyVector - Baltra
• FallingRain - Seymour Airport
• Current weather for SEGS at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for Seymour at Aviation Safety Network

• Ecuador
• Aviation

v t e USAAF Sixth Air Force in World War II
Previously: Panama Canal Air Force (1940-1941); Caribbean Air Force (1941-1942)
Airfields	Caribbean Coolidge (Antigua) Dakota (Aruba) Batista (Cuba) Camaguey (Cuba) Hato (Curaçao) Vernam (Jamaica) Arecibo (Puerto Rico) Borinquen (Puerto Rico) Losey (Puerto Rico) Benedict (Saint Croix) Beane (Saint Lucia) Carlsen (Trinidad) Piarco Airport (Trinidad) Waller (Trinidad) Canal Zone Albrook France Howard Panama Aguadulce Anton Calzada Larga Chame David La Chorrera Madden Patilla Point Pocri Río Hato Central and South America Belém (Brazil) Atkinson (British Guiana) Zandery (Dutch Guiana) Salinas (Ecuador) Baltra (Galápagos Islands) Guatemala City (Guatemala) Talara (Peru)
Units	Commands VI Bomber Command VI Fighter Command XXVI Fighter Command XXXVI Fighter Command VI Air Force Service Antilles Air Command Wings 6th Fighter 13th Bombardment 19th Composite 24th Composite Groups Fighter 16th Fighter 32d Fighter 36th Fighter 37th Fighter 53d Fighter Bomber 6th Bombardment 9th Bombardment 25th Bombardment 40th Bombardment Reconnaissance 72d Reconnaissance Squadrons 1st Depot Repair 20th Troop Carrier 23d Antisubmarine 91st Reconnaissance
United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth

• Airports in Ecuador
• Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces
• Buildings and structures in Galápagos Province