Central Ecuador’s frequent flyers are changing their routines since the capital city’s airport moved out of downtown Quito and into far-flung Tababela.

Many seasoned travellers are choosing to fly instead out of Guayaquil for international flights, and out of Latacunga for regional jaunts. Some of them are just taking the bus.

Jacobo Zurita is an Ambato businessman who travels every two months to Panama. “Last time I travelled, I went from Ambato to Quito by taxi, but the driver didn’t want to go out to Tababela, so I had to do a layover at the Río Coca terminal to take a bus to the new airport. We’ve decided that next time, me and my travel companions will just pay a van to take us to Guayaquil, and get a direct flight to Panama.”

Taxis from Ambato to the old Quito airport used to cost him $50. Today, from Ambato to Tababela, it can cost $80 or $100. An Ambato taxi driver explains that the new airport is much farther and traffic makes it difficult to get to.

In Chimborazo, also to the south of Quito, the panorama is similar. José Asqui says he had family members who lived near the old airport in Quito, and who’d pick him up and drop him off. But now he’d rather travel out of Guayaquil, because the airport tax is lower and Quito’s new airport is so difficult to reach.

The airport tax in Guayaquil is $25. At Tababela, it is $60.

The manager of a local travel agency in Riobamba, Chimborazo says 80 percent of his clients now prefer to travel out of Guayaquil.

Some travellers have switched to the Cotopaxi Airport, in the city of Latacunga. The manager of Tame airlines in Latacunga says they’ve seen an increase in the number of travellers from Ambato and Riobamba, but also from south Quito, making regional trips out of their terminal. The only passenger flights out of Latacunga are Tame flights to Guayaquil and El Coca. There is a charter company, Saéreo, that operates out of Latacunga also.

Antonio Garrido, who used to travel from Ambato to Quito to take flights to Cuenca, in southern Ecuador, now says he’ll just take the bus.

“It used to take me two hours to get from Ambato to Quito’s airport, and then a 45 minute flight to Cuenca. Now it takes me four hours to get to Tababela. I can get to Cuenca in four hours by bus, plus I save money and avoid the boarding process.”