The peak flower export season for Valentine’s Day 2025 at Quito Airport began this Saturday, January 18, and will run until Saturday, February 8. According to the forecasts that Quiport has made based on information obtained from the palletisers that process the cargo, the volume of flowers exported in the 2025 season will grow in a range of 3 percent to 5 percent.

In 2024, the total volume of flowers exported was 26,466 metric tons, setting an absolute record for Valentine’s Day exports from Quito Airport. In terms of flights, 493 flights are expected to be dispatched, operated by 15 cargo airlines. The main destinations for Ecuadorian flowers are the United States and Europe.

“The growth of air cargo has been a constant at the Quito airport, exceeding the volumes of processed cargo year after year. In the case of flower exports, the forecasts for 2025 are encouraging, thanks to the excellent positioning of Ecuadorian flowers in international markets. As Quiport, our responsibility as the Quito Airport concessionaire is to guarantee that the entire operation works properly so that the flowers are shipped on time, preserving their quality,” said Ramón Miró, president and CEO of Corporación Quiport.

The Mariscal Sucre International Airport has an international cargo terminal with 13 thousand square meters of usable area, in which four cargo palletizing companies operate, and the cargo platform that can accommodate up to six high-capacity cargo aircraft simultaneously (four E code -for example, Boeing 777-200- and two F code -for example, Boeing 747-800-), making it the main cargo airport in the country.

Infrastructure and operational efficiency have allowed Quito airport to reach 5th place in the ‘TOP 20 air cargo in the region’ ranking, prepared in 2024 by the International Council of Airports of Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC).