Carlos Concha Torres International Airport — Tachina, Ecuador

Carlos Concha Torres International Airport, given the code ESM, was built at Tachina to replace an older, flood-prone airfield that had long served Esmeraldas on Ecuador's northern Pacific coast. The facility honors a Liberal-era general and rebel leader from Esmeraldas province who fought during early twentieth-century Ecuadorian conflicts. Esmeraldas itself functions as a significant oil-refining and port city, handling crude piped from the Ecuadorian Amazon to coastal terminals and refineries. Thick tropical vegetation and frequent rainfall define the surrounding lowland landscape, a stark contrast to Ecuador's Andean interior cities. Flights from ESM connect mainly to Quito and Guayaquil, supporting both the petroleum industry workforce and visitors drawn to the province's palm-lined beaches and Afro-Ecuadorian cultural heritage, a distinctive element of the northern coastal region.