# Eloy Alfaro International Airport (MEC)

> Manta, EC · IATA: MEC · ICAO: SEMT · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `MEC` |
| ICAO | `SEMT` |
| City | Manta |
| Country | EC |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 15 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | -0.94608, -80.67880 |

## Description

Eloy Alfaro International (MEC/SEMT) in Manta is Ecuador's tuna airport: its main air cargo role is exporting perishable fishery products from the country's largest tuna port on the Manabí coast. The field is used both civilly and by the military, Swissport is present as a ground handler, and while cargo flights are flown from here, no permanent scheduled all-freighter operation is independently confirmed. Terminal and runway upgrades have raised passenger and cargo handling capacity, but the airport has no large cargo terminal of the kind found at an international hub. In practice that means cold-chain goods, fish and seafood can move out of Manta, while general cargo and consolidations usually route via José Joaquín de Olmedo International in Guayaquil (GYE) about 190 kilometres to the south, or Mariscal Sucre in Quito (UIO). Manta also sits directly at its own deep-water seaport, which makes air-sea combinations for fish, flowers and fruit straightforward, and the road link to Guayaquil and Portoviejo carries refrigerated trailers. Ecuadorian exports clear through the SENAE customs administration, with health and origin certificates required on top for fish and agricultural produce.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/eloy-alfaro-international-airport-mec](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/eloy-alfaro-international-airport-mec)*

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*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/eloy-alfaro-international-airport-mec/llm-summary*