The long-awaited Chinchero International Airport, near Peru’s world-renowned Machu Picchu, is now expected to open in late 2027, after project delays pushed back the original 2026 launch date, according to Travel Pulse.
Construction began in August 2018, with costs estimated at around US$665 million ($938m). The airport is designed to handle up to eight million travellers annually, potentially boosting visitor numbers to Machu Picchu by as much as 200 percent.
Proponents argue it could stimulate economic growth in the region, creating jobs during construction and opening opportunities for tourism-based businesses.
However, critics — including conservationists, archaeologists, and indigenous communities — warn of serious environmental and cultural risks.
The site already operates with a daily visitor cap, twice the UNESCO-recommended limit, to protect its fragile ruins. A surge in tourism could exacerbate overcrowding and threaten the integrity of Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley, home to Incan roads, terraces, salt mines, and irrigation systems still in use today.
Art historian Natalia Majluf has highlighted the threat posed by building on land shaped by the Incas, warning that an airport could irreversibly damage the historic landscape.
Perched 2,430m above sea level, Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, remains one of the most remarkable architectural achievements of the Incan civilisation, abandoned in the sixteenth century and rediscovered in 1911.