Cusco and Arequipa are popular places on our holidays in Peru so we, along with many other people, were understandably concerned to hear about long-term closures to the cities' airports. Luckily, after speaking to our contacts in Peru and at the Peruvian embassy here in the UK, we have been able to clarify the situation and can offer the following update.
The closures will not affect any of our holidays in Peru as, although both airports will be closed for long periods - Arequipa from September 8th to November 7th and Cusco from September 8th and September 28th - the closures will only be during the parts of the day when there are no scheduled flights.
This means that Arequipa's airport will only close between 09:00 and 15:00 and Cusco's between 16:30 and 18:00. The closures are to carry out essential maintenance work on the runways of both airports and should hopefully mean that both Arequipa and Cusco can service more flights (and more holidays in Peru!) in the years to come! This news also comes hot on the heels of the reports that a joint Spanish-Peruvian company has taken over ownership of the airports of twelve Peruvian cities in a development which should mean that centres such as Huaraz, Chachapoyas and Cajamarca are suitable for scheduled flights in the next few years.