OAG Travel News

Several years ago, a family member gave me the book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die.  It seemed like the perfect gift – I’m adventurous and love to travel – certainly this book would help me to plan future trips.  The only problem was that it gave me too many ideas… too many places to visit!

But seven is a number I could more easily handle.  New7Wonders Foundation, a Swiss company, began an initiative in 2001 to choose the modern wonders of the world.  After over 100 million votes were cast over the Internet, the seven modern wonders were unveiled in July 2007.  When the list was unveiled, I was pleased to learn that I had already visited four of the seven “modern” wonders.  I quickly booked a trip to visit a fifth, but two remain on my list.  As I start planning my trips to these amazing places, my thoughts turned to their air service.

Chichen Itza, Mexico
Closest airport - Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport, Merida, Mexico (MID)
Merida (MID) – Travelers can reach Merida nonstop from five airports.  Not surprisingly, the largest is Mexico City (MEX) – AeroMexico, Aviacsa and Mexicana provide competitive service.  Volaris offers service from Toluca (TLC), Mexico City’s low-cost airport.  There is also nonstop service from Houston (Continental), Miami (AeroMexico), and Villahermosa (AeroMexico).

Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
Closest airport - Santos Dumont Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (SDU)
Rio de Janeiro is home to two airports and the smallest – Santos Dumont Airport – is the closest to the city center over which the statue Christ the Redeemer looks.  Two domestic Brazilian destinations are served nonstop from SDU – Ribeirao Preto and Sao Paulo’s Congonhas Airport.  TAM provides service to both destinations, while VARIG and OceanAir provide competitive service to Sao Paulo.  Combined, these three airlines provide 120 daily flights between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Colosseum in Rome, Italy
Closest airport – Rome Ciampino Airport, Rome, Italy (CIA)
Like Rio de Janeiro, Rome is home to two airports – Ciampino and the larger, more well-known Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino (FCO) – but CIA is closer the city center by about 10 miles (16 kilometers).  Once Rome’s main airport, CIA has increased in importance in recent years due to new service by European low-cost carriers such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air.  These three airlines provide an average of 80 daily flights to 30 destinations throughout Europe.

Great Wall of China
Closest airport – Beijing Capital International Airport, Beijing, China (PEK)
With over 1,200 daily flights serving over 54 million annual passengers, Beijing ranks as one of the 10 busiest airports in the world.  Over 60 airlines provide nonstop service from Beijing to over 150 nonstop destinations.  Three Chinese carriers – Air China, China Southern and China Eastern – account for over 70 percent of Beijing’s flights.

Machu Picchu, Peru
Closest airport – Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport, Cuzco, Peru (CUZ)
Passengers flying into Cuzco have limited options – three of every four flights are to Peru’s capital city of Lima.  Three airlines – Lan Peru, Taca International and Star Up – provide this service.  Lan Peru also links Cuzco with three domestic cities – Juliaca, Puerto Maldonado and Tacna.  Cuzco’s only international service is to La Paz in neighboring Bolivia – Aerosur provides twice-weekly flights.  The elevation of CUZ – nearly 11,000 feet (over 3,300 meters) ranks it as one of the highest altitude airports in the world.

Petra, Jordan
Closest airport – King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba, Jordan (AQJ)
Nearly half of Aqaba’s flights are to Jordan’s capital city of Amman.  Jordan Aviation Airlines operates service to Amman’s Marka International Airport, while Royal Jordanian provides flights to Amman’s other airport – Queen Alia International.  In addition, Aqaba can also be reached nonstop from Alexandria, Egypt (Jordan Aviation); Assiut, Egypt (Jordan Aviation); Bahrain (Jordan Aviation); Brussels, Belgium (Jetairfly); Cairo, Egypt (Alexandria Airlines); Damascus, Syria (Jordan Aviation); Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Jordan Aviation); Kuwait (Jordan Aviation); and Paris, France (Royal Jordanian).

Taj Mahal, India
Closest airport – Agra Airport in Agra, India (AGR)
Agra’s air service is limited to flights to two domestic cities.  Kingfisher and Jet Airways provide service to Delhi, while Jet Airways provides even more limited service (one flight per month) to Mumbai.

As this quick review shows, the largest airports are not always the closest to the places you intend to visit.  When I traveled to Chichen Itza, I flew into Cancun; when I visited the Taj Mahal, I flew into Delhi; when I visited the Colosseum in Rome I flew into Fiumicino.  New7Wonders Foundation is now taking votes on the seven wonders of nature.  The final tally will be unveiled in 2010 and undoubtedly it will add some new places to my travel list.

Source: Official Airline Guide (OAG) Schedule Tapes; data for scheduled commercial service in March 2009 only, unless otherwise noted; includes published carrier unless otherwise noted; including total flights unless otherwise noted; Airports Council International; New7Wonders Foundation.

Note: This is not an endorsement of the New7Wonders Foundation.

OAG contributor Laura Jackson was just two weeks old when she took her first flight on Piedmont Airlines.  In junior high school, she developed a business plan for her own airline.  Today she manages strategy and policy issues at one of the world's busiest airports and provides original content and aviation industry analysis for OAG.