Seymour Airport

Seymour Airport
Seymour Airport
	IATA: GPS; ICAO: SEGS;
Summary
Airport type	Public / Military
Serves	Baltra, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
Elevation AMSL	207 ft / 63 m
Coordinates	00°27′14″S 090°15′57″W / 0.45389°S 90.26583°W
Runways
	Source: DAFIF

Seymour Airport (IATA: GPS, ICAO: SEGS) is an airport serving the island of Baltra^[1], one of the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador.

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 207 feet (63 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 14/32 with an asphalt surface measuring 7,876 by 115 feet (2,401 m × 35 m).^[1]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
AeroGal	Guayaquil, Quito
TAME	Guayaquil, Quito, San Cristóbal

History

During World War II, the airport (known as Seymour Island Airfield) was used by the United States Army Air Force Sixth Air Force defending the South American coastline and the Panama Canal against Japanese submarines. The first American personnel arrived on 9 April 1942. Military flying units assigned to the airport were:

52d Fighter Squadron (32d Fighter Group), 5 June-1 December 1942 (P-40 Warhawk)
51st Fighter Squadron (32d Fighter Group, later XXVI Fighter Command) 9 December 1942-4 March 1944 (P-40 Warhawk)

Detachments stationed at: Salinas Afld, Ecuador and Talara Afld, Peru, December 1942-March 1943

3d Bombardment Squadron (6th Bombardment Group) 4 May 1942-12 March 1943 (LB-30 (B-24A) Liberator)
29th Bombardment Squadron (6th Bombardment Group) 13 May 1943-10 April 1944; 26 April-October 1945 (B-24 Liberator)
45th Bombardment Squadron (40th Bombardment Group) 18 February-22 May 1943 (LB-30 (B-24A) Liberator)
74th Bombardment Squadron (VI Bomber Command) 21 August 1944-13 February 1945 (B-24 Liberator)
397th Bombardment Squadron (VI Bomber Command) 7 April 1944-6 February 1945 (B-24 Liberator)

By 30 September 1945, most personnel were withdrawn and only a housekeeping staff remained. The military facility was inactivated on 30 April 1946, leaving a communications unit which inactivated on 29 February 1948. Today many of the former USAAF aircraft parking hardstands still exist, along with an unused NW/SE runway that was abandoned after the war, but remains in reasonable condition.

References

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

^ ^a ^b ^c Airport information for SEGS from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
^ Airport information for GPS at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).

External links

[WAD-1] Airport information for SEGS from DAFIF (effective October 2006)

[GCM-2] Airport information for GPS at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).

[1]

[2]