Carlos Concha Torres International Airport
Carlos Concha Torres International Airport
Colonel Carlos Concha Torres Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Coronel Carlos Concha Torres) (IATA: ESM, ICAO: SETN) is an airport serving the Pacific coastal city of Esmeraldas, capital of the Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador. It is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the city, across the Esmeraldas River in the parish of Tachina. Established in 1940 as General Rivadeneira Airport, the airport was renovated between 2012 and 2013, receiving a new terminal and a lengthened runway.
Location
0.979°N, 79.627°O · 10 m s. n. m. (32 ft)
General data
Runways · 1
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 2
Tower
Flight information
Reference frequencies for enthusiasts, from OurAirports (community database, public domain), checked on Oct 16, 2026. They may be outdated or incomplete and do not replace the AIP or current charts: not for navigation. In Europe the published frequency may be an 8.33 kHz channel (e.g., 118.505 for 118.500). In MHz.
History
The airport was established on 25 March 1940, upon the upgrading of the runway. It was originally named in honor of José Enrique Rivadeneira, an inspector general of the Ecuadorian navy who died in a 1939 plane crash.
The Ecuadorian government renovated the airport in 2014 as part of a plan to modernise the country's airports and attract more tourists and businesses to Ecuador. It also held a contest in which the people of Esmeraldas voted on a new namesake. Carlos Concha Torres (es), an army commander who led a war against President Leónidas Plaza in the 1910s, received the most votes.
The airport also serves international flights to Colombia, which is served by Aeroregional but it was ended years later.
Photo: Rafael Carriel · CC0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM). Retrieved October 19, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM
MLA
“Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM (Accessed: 19 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_esm,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM}},
urldate = {2026-10-19},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-19}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/ESM |title=Carlos Concha Torres International Airport (ESM) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-19 |language=en}}