A new airport planned for Chinchero, a Peruvian city in the Andes that could become a new gateway for Machu Picchu, is dividing opinion among travel and tourism stakeholders and conservationists.
The airport is already under construction, and has been for nine years, during which there have been funding issues, corruption scandals, delays, and protests. But the controversial hub is now slated to open in late 2027.
Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications says the airport has cost about 2.3 trillion Peruvian soles (over €575 billion) so far, and the building work alone has employed 5,000 people. The result, they claim, will support one million locals.
What is true is that, if and when it finally comes to fruition, Chinchero could change the way visitors arrive at Machu Picchu, which traditionally is via flights into Lima or the Incan capital of Cusco, plus days of trekking, or hours of transit by car and bus. The new airport is intended to give tourists more time and relieve pressure on Cusco, handle up to eight million travellers annually, and, authorities estimate, could boost visitor numbers by 200%. In what some say is an underdeveloped region, there are lodges and hotels that would welcome the growth.
But others are voicing concerns about the potential cultural and environmental impact of the airport and are calling for a proper analysis of “proper analysis” of the effect it will have on local infrastructure, where water resources and waste management are already overstretched. Typical Incan roads, terraces, and agricultural land are being destroyed by the project, they say, and soon aircraft will skim over the nearby Ollantaytambo archaeological treasures.
The concerns are not only coming from expected sources such as archaeologists, conservationists, and Indigenous peoples, but also from Sacred Valley tourism operators and guides who warn that badly managed footfall and development could put the region’s natural assets—the watershed of Lake Piuray, myriad wildlife habitats, and heritage sites—at risk.
International experts agree that there is much at stake. Over 1.5 million people now go to Machu Picchu every year. In 2025, the New7Wonders project raised alarm bells about overtourism at the site, and UNESCO has warned that uncontrolled tourism at the citadel could put its World Heritage status in jeopardy. While Peru’s Ministry of Culture currently limits daily visitor numbers to 4,500 to 5,600, it is unclear how or whether that would need to change as visitor flows through Chinchero increase.
