Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport - Spotting Guide

Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo Airport – Spotting Guide

May 17, 2023 - last modified on December 6, 2023

Jose Joaquin de Olmedo Aiport (GYE/SEGU) serves the city of Guayaquil and is located directly in the city center. It is the second busiest airport in Ecuador with 3,7 million passenger in 2022 (before Covid it handled 5 million). It’s a good destination for plane spotting, not just for the commercial airport traffic, but the general aviation traffic too, which is varied and abundant. In addition there is a military air base so you may also see some military planes and helicopters.

The airport has 1 runway 21/03 and 1 terminal. The new terminal was finished in 2006, the old one in the southwest (which had no jetways) is now a convention center that serves fair and parties. The new terminal was needed as GYE is an important destination because it serves as a connection for tourists to the Galapagos Islands and the southern regions of the continent. Guayaquil’s International destionations Include: Bogota, Lima, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Santiago de Chile, Panama City, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Amsterdam and Madrid. And domestic flights include: Quito (the busiest routing here), Cuenca, Baltra Galapagos and San Cristobal Galapagos.
The commercial airlines that operate in Guayaquil today are for example: Equair, Latam Airlines, Avianca, Air Europa, Arajet, American Airlines, Copa Airlines, Iberia, Spirit, Jetblue, KLM, Wingo, Aeroregional. And cargo airlines that operate regularly and irregularly in Guayaquil are: DHL, UPS, Avianca Cargo, Latam Cargo.

Written by Severin Hackenberger in cooperation with Estefano Doumet, Eric Graf, Miguel Astudillio Z. (@spotter.miguel). Some pictures provided by Erick Bohórquez and @nicolas_aviation. Last Update: 2023

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
03/21	2790m / 9154ft
Terminals
T1	There is only one terminal handling all operations and alliances here.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not recommended as you draw the authority’s attention – plus you can actually spot without as well here!
Car/Public Transport	You can actually move quite nicely around with busses here. But a car may be safer sometimes to actually sit inside cause of the shadow and a bit safer feeling.
Drinks/Food	There are bars, some shops and restaurants around the airport in the suburb areas – especially around spot 2+3. Also close to spot 4+5 you will find some restaurants. Spot 1 is close to the terminal with an McDonalds e.g. so very authentic… 😉
Hotels	There is a Holiday Inn just north of the terminal. The eastern rooms may offer nice views onto the approach path of runway 21. We have none experiences yet. Please let us know if you tried it.
Season	Summer (May to October) is the best season for spotting as in summer runway 21 is active, which is a bit better for spotting. In Winter (November to April) runway 03 is active.
Security	Spotting here is often not understood. Be careful as the culture of spotting is not recognized in the country and the authorities are mostly unaware of the issue and misinterpret the hobby with other illegal actions. Sometimes authorities approach and ask for a brief explanation about the activity: just tell them what you do. But it is possible that they ask you to leave. Just do so and cooperate of course! In addition: Be carefull with robberies! Even if these locations are in the public and the street are transitated in all spots, we recommend you to go with a group of people. No robberies have been reported here yet but it is better to keep a low profile. If somebody approaches you and asks for the time, just say no and get out of there as that is a tactic that thieves like to use.
Runway Usage
General Info	Runway 21 is used actually all your around, just in winter 03 direction is more often in use.

	Spot #1 – Parada Cdla. Simón Bolívar Pedestrian bridge – 21 movements + ramp
WHERE	This spot is on the pedestrian bridge at the Metrovia bus stop of “Parada Cdla. Simón Bolívar”. Such bridges are quite typical in this part of the world and are a pretty good option for spotters to get an easy view above the airport fence/wall. Easiest way is to get here by bus and then position yourself on the bridge easily. It is also a short walk from the terminal.

WHAT	Movements on runway 21 in the back as well as the ramp in front.

TIME	In the afternoon is best here.

MISC.	The terminal is quite close with shops and bathrooms. Here is also shadow thanks to the bridge’s rooftop. Nothing needed otherwise, but haze can be an issue though. Some pedestrians or passengers may look strange at you or even stop and ask for the purpose. Just explain them nicely…

FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm B767 close up = 90mm

	Spot #2 – Dead end Callejon – 21 movements
WHERE	The location is basically the end of a dead end road turning off “Ave Benjamin Rosales” just north of the bus stop of Santa Leonor Oeste. Head for the fence here and just shoot thru the mesh easily. You can either come here by car or take the bus to spot 3 and then walk here.

WHAT	This spot offers a good view onto all 21 movements.

TIME	This spot works best from sunrise till roughly midday.

MISC.	Keep a low profile here and DO NOT lean to the fences that surround the airport as this could alert airport security. Ladder not recommended! If you walk 2 more blocks in a north-south direction you can find small food stalls, the surroundings are commercial.

FOCAL LENGTH	50-250mm Bombardier private jet = 130mm

	Spot #3 – Santa Leonor Oeste pedestrian bridge – 21 movements
WHERE	Very close to the previous location you find yet again a pedestrian bridge at the Metrovia bus stop of “Santa Leonor Oeste”. Easiest is to get here by bus and then position yourself on the bridge easily.

WHAT	This spot offers a good view onto all 21 movements.

TIME	This spot works best from sunrise till early afternoon.

MISC.	There are some shops/bars around here and there is shadow thanks to the bridge’s rooftop. Nothing needed otherwise, but haze can be an issue though. Some pedestrians or passengers may look strange at you or even stop and ask for the purpose. Just explain them nicely…

FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm

	Spot #4 – Aeropolicial – 03/21 movements
WHERE	This spot can be found at the end of a dead end road east along the runway. Just head for the end of this unnamed road (marked on the map) exactly. It is harder to get here by bus, we recommend a car so you drive up to the spot itsself. Then just position yourself at the fence and shoot thru the mesh.

WHAT	Here you can see basically all runway movements in both directions 03/21.

TIME	This spot works best from sunrise till early afternoon.

MISC.	Normally there are no issues with the companies here, but do not take photos of the hangar of aeropolicial! Keep a low profile here and DO NOT lean to the fences that surround the airport as this could alert airport security. Ladder not recommended! If you walk 2 more blocks in a north-south direction you can find small food stalls, the surroundings are commercial.

FOCAL LENGTH	70-300mm An124 close up = 210mm

	Spot #5 – La Atarazana – 03 movements
WHERE	This spot is located next to a military base Simon Bolivar along the highway going around the airport in the southeast. Then just stand at the fence and shoot thru the mesh. This spot is hard to reach by bus so we recommend to take a taxi or rental car.

WHAT	From here you can see all 03 movements. There is also an old, but well preserved Globster Meteor FR.9 at the base entrance that you can take pictures of without problems.

TIME	This spot works best from sunrise till early afternoon.

MISC.	Be careful, remember that the FAE air base is just nextdoor. So keep your camera in the big as long as possible and keep a low profile, but they usually do not mind the spotting activity! There are quite a few restaurants in the local area.

FOCAL LENGTH	50-250mm