Peru: Chaos of cancelled and rescheduled flights after LATAM’s accident

Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM), which serves the city of Lima, Peru, will be closed until further notice, after a LATAM Airbus A320neo collided with a Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (ARFF) vehicle while performing its take-off run.

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Due to causes that need to be established, the vehicle invaded the runway and impacted the aircraft, causing the engine to detach and the right main gear to collapse due to friction against the runway, resulting in a fire.

According to a statement issued by LATAM, all crew members and passengers were evacuated and are being treated by medical personnel and psychologists if needed. On the other hand, two firefighters from the ARFF vehicle were confirmed dead.

20221118 Runway incursion LIM-JUL

See also: LATAM Airbus A320neo plane crash in Peru: What We Know

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Given the magnitude of the accident, the concessionaire Lima Airports Partners reported that the airport would be closed until Saturday at 13:00 (local time). According to the latest NOTAM (Notice To Airmen) its only operational runway, 16/34, will remain closed due to an «aircraft obstruction».

The measure has as a direct consequence the cancellation and rescheduling of all flights bound for Lima. However, it is recommended to check the status of your scheduled flights in the coming hours through your travel agency and/or airlines.

Diversions

Lima is Peru’s main hub: consequently, commercial air traffic was almost paralyzed when terminal closure was decided. International flights crossing Peruvian airspace continued without problems, but the unavailability of Jorge Chavez airport forced several cancellations of long-haul and domestic connections.

According to Flightradar24, flight LA2297 bound for Cajamarca (CAJ) was the last plane to take off from Lima. The last flight to land was flight LA 2383 from Bogota (BOG).

At the time of the accident, 19 flights were flying to the airport and were forced to divert:

Alternate destination	Flight	Carrier	Origin	Aircraft
Arequipa (AQP)	LA 2414	LATAM	Santiago de Chile	Airbus A320
Bogotá (BOG)	AV 53	Avianca	Bogotá	Airbus A319
Bogotá (BOG)	IB 6659	Iberia	Madrid	Airbus A350-900
Chiclayo (CIX)	LA2383	LATAM	Quito	Airbus A320
Iquitos (IQT)	PU 301	Plus Ultra	Madrid	Airbus A340-300
Newark (EWR)	UA 886	United	Newark	Boeing 757-200
Panamá (PTY)	KL 743	KLM	Ámsterdam	Boeing 777-300ER
Panamá (PTY)	AF 448	Air France	París	Airbus A350-900
Panamá (PTY)	AA 379	American	Miami	Airbus A321neo
Pisco (PIO)	CM 131	Copa Airlines	Panamá	Boeing 737-800
Pisco (PIO)	H2 5166	SKY	Juliaca	Airbus A320neo
Pisco (PIO)	LA 2122	LATAM	Arequipa	Airbus A319
Pisco (PIO)	WQ 3903	iAero Airways	Alexandria, USA	Boeing 737-800
Pisco (PIO)	OB 2181	Star Perú	Tarapoto	Boeing 737-300
San José (SJO)	Q6 4110	Volaris	San José	Airbus A319
Santiago (SCL)	H2 2800	SKY	Santiago de Chile	Airbus A320neo
Trujillo (TRU)	P5 7413	Wingo	Bogotá	Boeing 737-800
Trujillo (TRU)	LA 2309	LATAM	Piura	Airbus A320
Trujillo (TRU)	LA 2254	LATAM	Talara	Airbus A320

 

Migrations of Peru informed that, in view of the emergency at Jorge Chávez International Airport, it has arranged to set up immigration controls at all airports where international flights have been diverted.

In the specific case of Pisco, immigration inspectors are traveling from Lima to control incoming international flights.