Lima Airport Tips
Allin chaskinqan kay means welcome in Quechua, the native language of millions of Peruvians.
Here’s everything you need to know about Lima, Peru’s Jorge Chavez airport: step by step!
Questions about your trip? I offer personalized travel advice for Peru. Contact me to arrange a call and download my travel guide app Peru’s Best.
Lima, Peru got a new airport in 2025!
This is a completely new terminal, built across the runway from the old terminal. Information about the airport from before June 2025 is incorrect. Not all maps are updated: the new airport is on Morales Duárez Avenue in Callao (north of Lima). The new terminal is a 20-25 minute drive from the old one, depending on traffic.
I’ve been through the new Lima, Peru airport over 20 times so far, mostly domestic but also five times through the international terminal.
Most recently, I went through the national and international terminals on May 13, 2026 arriving from the US to Lima with a connection to Cusco. I put my name on my photos so you know they’re really from my experience in Lima. I’m not grabbing random airport photos off the internet (or worse, creating AI slop) and pretending that they’re the new Jorge Chavez airport in Lima.
This blog covers:
1. International Arrivals at Lima, Peru’s Jorge Chavez Airport
2. Getting to Lima from the Jorge Chavez Airport
3. Jorge Chavez Airport Outside Security
4. Domestic Departures from Lima (flying to another city in Peru)
5. Domestic Arrivals (arriving in Lima from a city in Peru)
6. International Departures (leaving Peru)
7. Short Layovers at Lima, Peru’s Jorge Chavez Airport
8. Long Layovers at the Jorge Chavez Airport in Lima
1. International Arrivals
The photos above are from my arrival from an international flight. Be prepared for a long walk. Click on photos in this blog to see them bigger.
Arriving on an international flight some airlines have counters where you can check information for connecting international flights. After those counters, people with connecting international flights follow the purple floor stripe and people staying in Peru follow the blue floor stripe that says Welcome to Peru: Immigration and Baggage Claim. Note that the sign on the ceiling just says Connecting Flights, as if that were for all connections. It’s only for international connections! Anybody staying in Peru must follow the signs for immigration.
Immigration wait times in Lima are particularly long 5am-8am and 6pm-11pm when there are usually a lot of international arrivals.
When you go down the escalators to Immigration you first pass a set of machines on the left, which are only for Peruvian citizens and residents.
If you do not have a Peruvian passport, you don’t get to “Expedite your immigration process.”
I don’t get why the English translation “Expedite Your Immigration Process” is in giant capital letters and in tiny letters, only in Spanish, at the bottom it days *Peruanos y residentes mayores de 18 años. That means Peruvians and residents over 18.
Follow the signs for Extranjeros, which is for foreigners, even though it says Peruvians and foreigners. The signs for E-gates are not for boarding gates, they’re for electronic entry for Peruvians who used the machines. Unless you’re a diplomat or flight crew, you don’t get to use those lanes.
Next is baggage claim
If you don’t have any checked luggage, just follow the exit signs. Priority & business class passengers pick up their luggage next to the belts.
2. Getting to Lima from the Jorge Chavez Airport
If you are staying in Lima, exit immigration at the arrivals hall, which leaves you on the 1st floor. If you expect somebody to get you at the airport, look for a sign with your name here. Just outside are about a dozen kiosks for taxis and one for the AirPort Express bus (below).
Go up to the 2nd floor for a Uber, Cabify or shuttle. There’s a long walkway that goes to a loop of road that is accessible by public busses and regular cars. Only official taxis and the blue Airport Express bus are on the 1st floor road that comes close to the airport. All Ubers and other cars are on the road across from the 2nd floor exit. Go up to the 3rd floor for connections - scroll down for connection info.
My favorite Lima airport transportation is Airport Express.
This bus goes to four stops in Miraflores and is the safest & cheapest way to get from the airport into Lima. It’s outside door 2 on the 1st floor but also clearly visible if you exit out door 1 where all the taxi kiosks are. You can pay for the bus or taxis with a credit card. Just inside door 1 is an information desk.
1st floor information desk
Outside security, on the ground (1st) floor, this information desk can help with taxi and bus information to Lima or near the airport.
Even if I’m not staying in Miraflores, I get the Airport Express bus to one of the four stops and then get an Uber to my destination. This isn’t sponsored. They don’t pay me to recommend the bus but I want people to know how I get to Lima. This is also the most sustainable & environmentally friendly way to get from the airport to Lima.
All my travel tips for Peru are in my travel guide app Peru’s Best. Download here!
3. Jorge Chavez Airport Outside Security
Jorge Chavez has a lot outside of security so this section is long. It has everything available at the airport outside security because sometimes you can’t check in for your flight or go through security until 3 or 4 hours before departure. Also, because going to Lima is such a pain and takes an hour or more from the airport, if you have a layover under six hours I recommend you stay at the airport. (More on layovers below).
In the four photos above: If you somehow got to the airport without a ticket, Latam, JetSmart and Sky have ticket counters near the check-in counters and a bank of ATMs. There is also a place to exchange money, which I don’t recommend because it has terrible rates. In general, exchanging money at the airport will get you the worst rate possible. Get cash from an ATM or exchange once you get to your destination.
3 floors outside security
The top/3rd floor has check in, security to both national and international terminals, ticket sales, post office, baby care room and an information desk.
The 2nd floor has the sleep pods, car rental and the walkway to the Wyndham Grand hotel and to public transportation. This level has no staffed information desk but it has a touch screen information station.
The 1st floor has arrivals, a staffed information desk, luggage storage, kiosks for several taxi companies and the AirPort Express bus to Lima.
Food at the Lima airport
There is a giant area of restaurants and two quasi-food trucks in the center of the hall for check in on the 3rd floor. Oddly, there is just one menu that has most of the things from each restaurant. I don’t recommend eating on the 3rd floor because there are better options after security. However, if you’re at the airport too early to check in for your flight, go down to the 2nd floor, which has more restaurants and cafés.
The top floor (3rd floor) has check in halls and security. The 2nd floor has Starbucks, food, car rentals & sleep pods.
Sleep Pods & Showers
Check this link for the new Lima Airport Sleepover Sleep Pods. They are outside security on the 2nd floor by Dunkin Donuts.
Car rental on 2nd floor
The car rental companies with desks at the Lima airport are Hertz, Thrifty, Sixt, Avis, Budget, Alamo and Enterprise.
3rd floor post office
If you need to mail anything that doesn’t fit in your luggage, the post office is on the 3rd floor in the corner that has the ticket sales desks for Sky Airlines and Jet Smart.
Pharmacy on 3rd floor
This is the last pharmacy before you go through security and while it’s mostly a convenience shop, it does have a counter with a pharmacist that sells prescription medications.
Baby care room
In Spanish it’s labeled both Lactario and Sala de Lactancia and is mostly for breastfeeding and pumping milk. It’s on the 3rd floor near (but outside) security.
3rd floor check-in for your next flight
Check the screens for where you can check in for your flight, which depends on which airline you’re flying with.
Check flight status
The screens with flight status (delayed, boarding, etc) are different from the ones that tell you where to check in for your flight. Both this screen and the one above are in the same area where you check in.
Priority lanes in Peru
In Peru priority and special assistance lanes are not only for people with physical disabilities. From airports to grocery stores, pregnant and elderly people can also use these lanes. Most are also for people with small children.
LATAM check in advice
Check in for all airlines is on level 3 and Latam has rows A and B. NOTE: Domestic lounges are currently unavailable and only two international lounges are open as of April 23, 2026.
Only go through security once
Don’t go through security until you have to, and make sure you didn’t forget anything at a restaurant outside security. Airport security fees are included in flight prices but if you leave security and want to go back through a second time they will charge you $12.41 for the national terminal and $30.86 for the international terminal.
There’s a weird asterisk by flight delay, which goes to very fine print at the bottom that basically says only if the delay is caused by a problem on the runway.
Pay the airport fee outside security
Fees are normally included in plane tickets but if you need to pay any airport fees, the office to pay is outside security. The crowd of people is a the entrance to security.
4. Domestic Departures
Arrive 2-3 hours before your flight. In February 2026, I arrived at the Lima airport with only one hour before my flight to Cusco and made it through in plenty of time because I didn’t have any checked luggage. If you have to check luggage, you need at least another hour and maybe two. It’s rare, but I know people in Peru who checked luggage an hour before boarding and were told that the flight already was at the weight limit for luggage and it would be sent on the next available flight. Don’t be the last person in line to check your bags.
Security for all departures, including flights in Peru (like Cusco) is on the 3rd floor.
Follow the signs for Departures and Check-in on the 3rd floor. The security for domestic departures is just to the right of the security for international departures. Once through security, you are in a different waiting area from international departures, with different restaurants. As of April 2026, there were no business class or club lounges in the domestic terminal and no date for when they might open.
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Going through security is EASY!
This is my favorite part of the new airport. With the new machines you don’t have to take anything out of your bags. Laptops, liquids, everything stays in. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to be fast. Lines are still long and they check your boarding pass twice, but it will be easy.
Do not take anything out of your bag.
Computers, full water bottles, everything gets left in your bag for security. This is the same for domestic and international departures.
DO NOT take off your shoes or chug your water bottle.
Airports in Peru, even ones without these new fancy machines, do not require you to take off your shoes or empty your water bottle. Keep your shoes on and bring water with you to the airport. That’s the same in Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, Iquitos and everywhere in Peru.
Purple for international, blue for national
This is consistent throughout the airport. If you are departing on an international flight, always follow the purple signs and floor stripes. National flights in Peru are always blue signs and floor stripes.
After security, if you are taking a national flight you go by a big shopping area that looks like duty free. Next you’ll see floor stripes for departure gates for national flights. The A gates are around the food court and have turquoise floor stripes. Follow the darker blue for C and B gates. Note that they’re listed C, B because you have to walk past the C gates to get to the B gates.
The new flight status boards have one detail I really appreciate: walking times for each gate. On the light blue strip at the top there is a little icon of a person walking and below that is about how many minutes it will take you to get there from the board you’re standing by. And as long as you’re looking at the details, yes there really is a place in Peru named Pata de Gallo. It’s east of Trujillo and south of Cajamarca.
Lounges are still closed
When I was in the Lima airport domestic terminal on May 13 2026, the expected date for opening lounges was sometime in August. The new airport wasn’t finished when it opened in June 2025 and in May 2026 it’s still not finished.
The food court has plenty of options but not enough seating. If the ones around the center are all full, look farther around the edges, where you’ll find TGI Friday’s and Starbucks. My favorite restaurants in the domestic terminal are Sakamoto and Tanta because they’re the only ones with decent vegetarian options.
There is only one bookshop after security and it has a very limited selection of books in English.
Information desk
There is only one information desk in the national terminal, which is near the food court. The English words on the sign are awfully small for a desk simply labeled with the airport name. I hope they improve the signs for English speakers.
Shopping past security
This is the only option if you need something practical. The other shops are souvenirs and food.
A Gates
If you are flying out of an A gate, look around the outside of the food court and follow the turquoise floor stripes. These gates do not have enough seating, so be prepared to stand or spend most of your time in the food court area.
C Gates
If you are flying out of C gates, be prepared for a bit of a walk. There are two very short moving walkways but most of it is just hallway. Gates are listed C, B because you have to go past the C gates to get to the B gates.
Food options near gates
This is the only restaurant on the way to C and B gates. The A gates got most of the restaurants.
Seating at C gates
Each gate is closed off from the hallway and there is no seating in the hallway. There was at least a dozen people sitting on the floor and every seat full when I arrived. Gate C8 had it’s doors closed so I couldn’t sit there.
B Gates
The only way to get to B Gates is to walk the whole hallway to the end of the C Gates, then go downstairs.
There is elevator and escalator for going downstairs, but no moving walkways past Gate C3. This is a very long walk and you should get a head start if you have a B Gate departure - but be aware that there’s no restaurants in B Gates. Get food at the restaurants around the A Gates before you start the trek.
B gates all have buses that take you out on the tarmac where you board your flight up a set of stairs. These are mostly national flights to destinations that don’t get much traffic, like Tacna or Cajamarca. They’re also commonly used by budget airlines like JetSmart and Star Peru.
If you have mobility challenges and can’t walk up stairs with your carry on, do not book flights with budget airlines in Peru. There is a high probability that your flights will be through B Gates, which are a royal pain for anybody who uses a wheelchair or has mobility challenges.
If you arrive in Lima on a domestic flight (from somewhere in Peru) you need to go down these escalators for international connections or to exit the airport.
5. Domestic Arrivals
If you arrive on a domestic flight and are either departing on an international flight, or staying in Lima, you have to go down this escalator. If you have a connection to another domestic flight in Peru, you don’t need to exit the airport or go through security again. However, any international connection means you have go do down this escalator, walk through a really long hallway and eventually exit the airport.
Even if you have already checked in for your international flight and don’t have checked luggage, you still have to go past baggage claim and then back upstairs, past the check in counters and through security again. Sorry. It shouldn’t be so hard. This airport will make sure you get your steps in before you get to leave.
If you are connecting to another national flight, do not go downstairs if your luggage is checked through to your final destination. You can stay in the domestic terminal and just go to your next flight. However, if you are connecting to a different airline and have checked luggage, you have to go downstairs, get your bags, exit to the 1st floor, go upstairs to the 3rd floor and go through security again. For example, if you’re flying from Cusco to Iquitos or Cusco to Chachapoyas and you have checked luggage, you want to be sure you can check through to the final destination. Even better, don’t check any bags.
Download the airline app because it will usually post gate info before the info boards in the terminal. Until an hour and a half before the flight it will just say when it will have gate info. Once it posts which gate the flight departs from, then it will list walking time.
6. International Departures
You are allowed to bring a full water bottle through security. All other restrictions, like knives and fireworks, apply. You don’t have to take off your shoes at any airport in Peru.
This is the official recommendation, but in my experience you don’t need quite so much time.
For international flights, it can take an hour to check your bag and another half hour to get through security. The line for immigration to have your passport checked can take up to an hour. If you have an international flight and need to check baggage, I recommend arriving 3-4 hours early.
I took two full water bottles through security for an international flight on April 23, 2026. For an international flight to any country besides the US, you get to board the plane with water. Flights to the US are different and get a second security check at the gate.
If you have a flight to the US, there is extra security at the gate. They will take away your bottle of water at the gate, right before you board your plane and you won’t have an opportunity to get more water. If you are flying to the US, drink any water you brought through security before it’s time to board. This a hand inspection of your carry on, not a machine scan.
Security at Lima’s airport
International and national security is in the same place, but international departures have purple signs and national departures for flights in Peru have blue signs. The QR code for “expedite your immigration process” is only for Peruvians.
Information after immigration
Right after immigration (where they check your passport) is the only information desk that’s in the international terminal. They can help you get on the free wifi if you have trouble connecting.
Touchscreen information station
This touchscreen information station is in the international terminal but there is also one outside security on the 2nd floor and in the national terminal. You can set it to Spanish or English, it’s easy to navigate and has tons of good information.
There are only two lounges open in the international terminal as of April 2026: The Club LIM and the LATAM lounge. This first one is available to most business class flyers on most airlines: Avianca, KLM, AirFrance, United, Air Canada, American and others. It’s also for people with Priority Pass and Lounge Key and people who want to pay $55 USD.
The Club LIM is so crowded I don’t think it’s worth it. If you’re flying Latam first class, it’s worth your time to call the airline and make sure you have access to the Latam lounge. Both lounges are open 24 hours because there are a lot of international departures around midnight and 1am.
Other VIP Lounges
Eventually there will be more lounges, which should make The Club LIM less crowded, but as of April 2026 there are no set opening dates for more lounges.
One of my favorite airport murals: If you’re going to leave me, let it be at the airport.
7. Short layovers
If you have a short layover from your international arrival and a connection to Cusco or another national destination, it’s best to stay in the airport. The neighborhood around the airport is one of the most dangerous in Lima (which makes it the most dangerous in all of Peru). There’s not a lot to see near the airport, so if you don’t have time to go somewhere, stay inside. Scroll back up to see information about what’s at Lima’s Jorge Chavez airport outside of security.
If you want somewhere quieter that’s outside security, go to the Wyndham Grand Costa del Sol, which is so close it’s almost like being in the airport. The bar is open 24 hours and during the day they let non-guests use the spa. It’s the quietest place nearby where you won’t hear airport announcements. (Note that the Wyndham Costa del Sol is at the old airport so if you’re making a reservation be sure it’s the Wyndham Grand). A new Holiday Inn is opening “soon” but as of April 2026, the Holiday Inn is still near the old airport, a 20-minute drive away.
Luggage storage
Look for signs for Luggage Storage on the 1st floor.
Luggage storage prices
Prices are in S/ Peruvian Nuevo Soles and the exchange rate fluctuates so always check the current rate. Regardless of prices, it’s almost always better than taking luggage with you when leaving the airport, if your next flight won’t let you check in yet.
If you just have a connection in Lima, try to get your bags checked through to your final destination.
8. Long layovers
Getting into the center of Lima takes about an hour most of the time but even longer during morning and evening rush hour. I don’t recommend going to Lima unless your layover is more than six hours. Give yourself two hours to get back to the airport during rush hour.
I lost track years ago how many times I’ve visited Lima and have several blogs on what to do there, plus there’s a lot of information for what to do in Lima in my travel guide app Peru’s Best. Here are some of my blogs about a weekend in Lima, tours in Lima, my favorite museum the Larco Museum in Lima and my article in Lonely Planet for what to do with kids in Lima. I wrote about Lima’s neighborhood of Barranco for Time Out’s Coolest Neighborhoods in the World.
Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport is in the town of Callao, which is just north of Lima but not technically Lima. It’s not a safe area. If you’re not checking your luggage, leave any big carryons in a locker at the airport, which are near the international terminal exit. I don’t recommend wandering around Callao. I’ve walked through the neighborhood near the airport, which is called Bocanegra, and it always makes my Spidey sense tingle. (Bocanegra means black mouth and the name always reminds me of a pit viper’s black tongue).
If you have four to five hours, you can consider taking a cab to La Punta, the only really touristy place in Callao. There’s a nice malecón and you can get in a good walk if you need to stretch your legs. La Punta also has a string of good restaurants along the malecón. If you want to go to a mall, the Plaza Norte Mall is a 30 minute drive away and a taxi costs about s/60 PEN. Keep taxi windows closed and put purses and valuables on the floor by your feet. One of the most common thefts in Lima is somebody reaching in a car window to grab stuff and then zooming away on a motorcycle. This is not a problem in other cities around Peru.
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Questions?
Try this airport interactive map of Lima’s Jorge Chavez airport. Also, I offer personalized travel advice for Peru. Contact me to arrange a call.
