Flying to Ecuador

General information

While the country has a good number of airfields and a few secondary airports offering at best a regular connection to the capital, it also has two major international airports: Guayaquil (4.3 million passengers per year) and Quito (around 6 million). Though they don’t offer a huge range of destinations, both serve as the country’s main air gateways, with flights to Latin America and North America, plus a few to and from Europe—mostly on scheduled services.

Local airlines

Ecuador has three "more or less" homegrown carriers: Avianca Ecuador and LATAM Ecuador, which are part of larger groups and handle most routes, including domestic ones (Galapagos), plus AeroRegional for domestic flights and some regional services.

From Europe

Direct options are very limited, with only Air France-KLM offering flights from Amsterdam to Quito, and Iberia and Air Europa serving both the capital and Guayaquil, often at competitive prices. Expect to pay between 800 and 1,000 € for roughly 11 hours of flying.

Otherwise, as is often the case, U.S. airlines may appear among the options, but they’re not necessarily the best choice due to flight durations, fares, and the specific hassles of transiting through the United States. In short, it’s usually better to stick with European airlines—whether that’s Air France-KLM for its direct flight from Amsterdam or connections via Spain, which generally offer the best value.

From the Americas

North America

Flights to Quito are available from Atlanta (Delta), Miami (American + LATAM), New York (Avianca), and Houston (United). New York and Florida also connect to Guayaquil with more or less the same carriers. There are also seasonal flights from Canada.

Central America and the Caribbean

Aruba and Curaçao: Guayaquil and Quito (Avianca)

El Salvador: Guayaquil and Quito (Avianca)

Mexico: Quito (Aeromexico)

Panama: Guayaquil and Quito (Avianca + Copa)

South America

Argentina: Guayaquil (Aerolineas + LATAM), Quito (Aerolineas)

Bolivia: Quito (Avianca)

Chile: Guayaquil and Quito (LATAM)

Colombia: (several cities) Guayaquil and Quito (Avianca + Copa + LATAM)

Peru: Guayaquil (Avianca + LATAM), Quito (Avianca + LATAM)

From elsewhere

No direct flights from Africa or Asia-Pacific, so connections are required.