Air operations continue to be affected in Peru by the upsurge of violence in the demonstrations in favor of Pedro Castillo, who was ousted in December.
Juliaca airport (JUL), the country’s fourth most important airport in terms of passenger movement, has been closed for commercial flights since Friday, January 6, after a mob entered the perimeter. As of yesterday, the demonstrations had resulted in 17 deaths, 9 of them in the vicinity of the airport, according to Peru’s Ombudsman’s Office.
Alberto Otárola, Peruvian Prime Minister, said that yesterday more than 9,000 demonstrators arrived at the Juliaca airport and 2,000 attacked the facilities.
Around 60 flights have been cancelled affecting some 10 thousand passengers.
To mitigate this situation, the Peruvian Air Force operated special flights in Hercules KC-130 and Spartan C-27J aircraft that transported stranded passengers to the Callao Air Base, near Lima.
Juliaca was joined this Tuesday by the Ayacucho Airport (AYP), which was closed, according to the Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications, «preventively to safeguard the lives of citizens». This will affect a dozen flights between today and tomorrow.
«These actions will be updated as we unite in a fraternal and sincere dialogue and stop the violence,» added the agency.
The government also denied the closure of the Alejandro Velasco Astete Airport in Cusco, whose flights are operating according to the original schedule. In December, the closure of these facilities reached international relevance given that thousands of foreign tourists were stranded in this tourist center in the days leading up to the New Year’s holidays.
