Airport Guide: Santiago International Airport
The Santiago International Airport, also known as Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport is the biggest airport in Chile and an important international hub. In this airport guide, what you need to know about departing here!
The airport of Santiago de Chile is one of the top 10 airports in South America when it comes to flight traffic and passengers and one of the major hubs of the LATAM Airlines Group.
LATAM Chile offers dozens of domestic and international flights, including flights to Europe, North America and even Australia and New Zealand. Other important players at the airport are JetSmart and Sky Airline.
Dining and shopping at Santiago International Airport
The airport of Santiago de Chile offers various dining and shopping options. The current international terminal (a new one is supposed to open in 2020) dozens of bars, cafés and restaurants as well as the typical shopping options for travel needs as well as fashion, jewlery etc.
While the airport isn’t as much of a shopping paradies as airports in the United States and Europe, you can still basically get everything you might want to buy here. The dining and shopping options in the domestic area are somewhat more limited, but you’ll get all typical travel needs here, too.
Sleeping at Santiago International Airport
The Comodoro Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport is open 24 hours a day, making it possible to spend the night in the terminal. Passengers are recommending to sleep airside as there are more sleeping spots (various benches) in this area. While it’s generally allowed to sleep at the airport, the temperatures are known to be rather low and there’s some noise, according to sleepinginairports.com. If you are looking for a good night’s sleep, you might be better of staying at a hotel. There are various options with the Holiday Inn Santiago Airport being directly connected with the terminal. This hotel is also the most expensive airport hotel. If you are looking for cheaper hotels, look for the properties around the airport, including a Hilton Garden Inn and a couple of independend hotels.
Lounges at Santiago International Airport
The Santiago de Chile Airport offers a couple of different lounges with most of those located in the international terminal. The best and biggest lounge is the LATAM Lounge Santiago de Chile, which I think is really beautiful. Other airlines include an Avianca Lounge, an American Airlines Admirals Club and a Delta SkyClub. Furthermore, there are various independend lounges, including the Salones VIP Pacific Club and The Lounge, both belonging to Priority Pass.
Everyone holding a membership can also access the Primeclass Condor Lounge in the domestic part of the terminal. Be aware that on domestic itineraries, lounge access is not granted for flights with LATAM even when holding an oneworld Sapphire or Emerald status.
Overview of all lounges at Santiago de Chile Airport:
- Avianca Lounge Santiago: Star Alliance Business Class, Star Alliance Gold, Priority Pass members
- Delta SkyClub: SkyTeam Business Class, SkyTeam Elite Plus members
- LATAM Lounge Santiago: oneworld Business Class, oneworld Sapphire & Emerald members
- The Lounge Santiago: Paid Entrance & Priority Pass members
- Primeclass Condor Lounge (domestic): Paid Entrance & Priority Pass members
- Salones VIP Pacific Club: Paid Entrance & Priority Pass members
Transportation at Santiago International Airport
The Santiago Metro isn’t connected to Santiago de Chile Airport, which means that you have to use a bus if you want to get from the Airport to town by public transportation. The Centropuerto buses are connecting the airport with the Los Héroes station every 10 (weekdays) or 15 (weekend) minutes though. Another option to get from the airport to town is either taking a taxi or an Uber, which costs about 25 US-Dollar / 20 Euro. All major car rental companies are having offices at the airport, too.