Punta del Este Airport Terminal Named South America's Best FBO for Second Straight Year
Why It MattersRegional FBO prestige is increasingly contested through award voting and new-build terminals, and a facility's visibility to private-aviation travelers now depends on amenities and traffic growth together.
What happened
The General Aviation Terminal at Punta del Este International Airport in Uruguay was named South America's best FBO (Fixed Base Operator) for the second consecutive year at the World Travel Awards. The Caribbean and the Americas gala was held on October 11 at the Princess Grand Jamaica, according to Aeropuertos Uruguay.
The terminal has also been nominated for the world's best FBO title. That category will be decided by online voting on the awards website, open until Friday, October 30, and the Grand Final Gala is scheduled for December 12 in Tanzania.
The facility is operated by Aeropuertos Uruguay, which is part of Corporación América Airports and manages eight airports in Uruguay. Inaugurated in December 2024, the new terminal tripled the surface area of the previous general aviation terminal. It includes a terrace overlooking the apron, a gastronomic offering, a Duty Free shop and a dedicated pilots' lounge.
On December 26, 2025, the airport recorded 220 general aviation operations in a single day, more than 30% above the previous record of 169 movements set exactly one year earlier. Damián Pera, general aviation manager at Aeropuertos Uruguay, called the terminal a key space in the company's push to grow private aviation activity in the country. Guillermo Pagés, general manager of Punta del Este International Airport, said the recognition is the result of the whole team's permanent effort to offer a top-quality experience to those passing through the terminal.
Industry impact & what to watch
Seasonal leisure airports such as Laguna del Sauce live or die by how well they handle short, intense peaks of private traffic. A purpose-built terminal with its own lounge, dining and retail is the kind of investment that lets a regional FBO compete for the same travelers who might otherwise default to larger hubs. The 220-operation day recorded at the end of 2025 shows the demand side of that equation; the terminal built in December 2024 is the supply side.
Awards of this type mostly work as marketing currency. The regional title gives the operator a talking point with flight departments and charter planners, and the world category adds a public-vote element, which tends to reward operators able to mobilize their own networks as much as those with the best facility. The result should therefore be read as a signal of the operator's reach and ambition, not as an audited quality benchmark.
Two dates now frame the story: online voting closes on October 30, and the Grand Final Gala takes place on December 12 in Tanzania. Whether the terminal converts its regional title into the world one will settle how far this recognition travels beyond South America.
