Guaraní International Airport — Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

Ciudad del Este sits at the point where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina meet, a triple-frontier zone built largely around cross-border commerce and duty-free retail that draws shoppers from all three countries. The airport serving this trading hub takes its name from the Guaraní people indigenous to the region and rests 846 feet above sea level, its one runway handling both passenger traffic and cargo tied to the area's massive informal and formal trade economy. Nearby, the Itaipu Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world, generates a substantial share of both Paraguay's and Brazil's electricity, and airport traffic includes engineers and officials connected to the binational project. Ciudad del Este's economy has long centered on the price differences between Paraguayan, Brazilian, and Argentine goods, drawing bus and car traffic across the Friendship Bridge to Brazil in far greater volume than the airport handles directly. Still, for travelers moving between the tri-border area and Asunción or destinations further afield, the airport offers a faster alternative to overland travel through the congested border crossings. The surrounding Alto Paraná Department has grown into one of Paraguay's more economically dynamic regions on the strength of this cross-border trade.