This is the first in an occasional series about small, often regional, airports which have something that sets them aside.
In this one, Punta del Este Airport, on the Uruguayan coast and not far from the capital (Montevideo) comes under scrutiny, along with the town itself.
Punta del Este, with a population of 170,000, might be no more than a small and insignificant town, but a series of natural circumstances and a history of staging international events have combined to turn it into an international jet setters’ paradise; much of its high-end tourists come out of Argentina, while its expat population continues to grow, partly to hedge against the impact of political developments in the northern hemisphere.
The question is: does the airport, even if it is ultimately managed by one of the world’s leading private sector operators, have what it takes to handle what could amount to a big increase in traffic in the coming years?