Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport

Compiled by Bill Gao

Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (Chile)

IATA: SCL ICAO: SCEL

Longest Active Runway

12,303 ft

3,750 meters

Field Elevation

1,555 ft

474 m MSL

Runway Inventory

2 active

Lighted / Paved

Coordinates & Class

-33.3930°, -70.7858°

LARGE AIRPORT

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Multi-Universe Rankings & Statistical Standing

How ranks work →

RunwayFacts Published Dataset

tied #146 of 650

In curated primary commercial index

Global Commercial Universe

#229 of 7558

Top 3.1% percentile worldwide

For airports with equal runway length, the worldwide order does not indicate a length difference.

National Standing (Chile)

#1 of 3 in CL

#1 of 51 in full national registry

vs Large Airport Median

+23%

Compared to 10,000 ft baseline

💡 SCL in numbers: 12,303 ft longest runway · tied #146 of 650 published · #229 of 7,558 worldwide (top 3.1%) · #1 in Chile.

🔬 Operational & Aerodrome Engineering Comparative Analysis

Longest runway ≥10,500 ft

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Elevation & National Context

Lowland Aerodrome (<2,000 ft)

SCL lies at 474 m (1,555 ft), #147 of 650 published airports by elevation and 76.3 percentile among 7,558 worldwide. It is 1,328 ft above the Chile median (227 ft, 3 airports) and the highest published airport in the country.

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Regional Density & Alternates (100 NM)

0 Qualifying Aerodromes in Vicinity

No published neighbour with a paved runway of 5,000 ft or more within 100 NM of SCL. Nearest published airport: Ingeniero Aeronáutico Ambrosio L.V. Taravella International Airport (COR), 356 NM, 10,499 ft (1,804 ft shorter than SCL); none other within 250 NM.

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Runway Inventory & National Standing

Primary Runway: 12,303 ft (3,750 m)

SCL runways: 17R/35L 12,303 × 148 ft asphalt (asp); 17L/35R 12,303 × 180 ft asphalt (asp). National standing: #1 of 3 in Chile; 1,312 ft ahead of IQQ (10,991 ft). +23% vs the 10,000 ft baseline.

🛫 Physical Runway Inventory & Surface Engineering

Runway Designator	Length (ft / m)	Width (ft / m)	Surface Material	Lighting	Status
17R/35L	12,303 ft (3750 m / 3.750 km)	148 ft (45m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active
17L/35R	12,303 ft (3750 m / 3.750 km)	180 ft (55m)	`Asphalt (ASP)`	✅ Lighted	✅ Active

🛡️ Source: OurAirports Open Aviation Database, snapshot 2026-09-01 · Provenance →