Runways at SCDA
According to OurAirports data (compiled from AIP and FAA sources), Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique) has one runway: 01/19 - 3,350 m long (10,991 ft), 45 m wide, asphalt surface.
Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique) (SCDA / IQQ)
Chile · elevation 155 ft AMSL
· -20.5363, -70.1814
About Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique)
Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique) is an airport with the ICAO code SCDA and the IATA code IQQ. Country: Chile. Nearest settlement listed in the database: Iquique. OurAirports classifies it as a large airport. Its ICAO code starts with the SC prefix, which marks airports in Chile. The four-letter code SCDA is used in flight operations and weather reports, while the three-letter IATA code IQQ is used for ticketing and baggage handling. The airport reference point sits at 20°32'11"S, 70°10'53"W, at an elevation of 155 ft (47 m) above sea level. The applicable time zone is America/Santiago.
Satellite view of SCDA
Aerial imagery showing the runway and apron layout - the zoom is matched to the longest runway.
Runways of SCDA
| Threshold | Course | Length | Width | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 10° | 3,350 m (10,991 ft) | 45 m (148 ft) | asphalt |
| 19 | 190° |
The course is derived from the runway designator (number × 10), not from a survey - the actual magnetic bearing can differ by a few degrees.
Declared distances (TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA) are published in the national AIP - they are not part of this table.
Climate at Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique) - statistics from METAR reports
What the METAR reports from SCDA for 2023-2025 show - counted hour by hour.
We computed these statistics from 25,721 METAR reports issued by SCDA in 2023-2025. VFR conditions prevailed 67% of the time, MVFR 33% and IFR or LIFR <1%. Best month for VFR flying: February (100% of hours VFR). Most IFR and LIFR hours: May (<1%).
IFR and LIFR conditions are rare here at any time of day.
Fog practically did not occur here. Thunderstorms (TS) occurred on 0.4 days a year on average, and snowfall practically never.
The wind most often blows from SSW (203°) - 23% of reports. Calm (0 kt) made up 4% of reports, and gusts of 25 kt or more appeared in 0%. Warmest month: February (average high 26.7 °C); coldest: August (average low 15.4 °C).
Year
Selected period in numbers: 2023-2025
- VFR hours
- 67%
- IFR/LIFR hours
- <1%
- Avg high
- 21.5 °C
- Avg low
- 17.4 °C
- Fog days
- 0
- Thunderstorm days
- 0.4
- Snow days
- 0
- Prevailing wind
- SSW · 23%
- Gusts ≥ 25 kt
- 0%
Day counts are for the selected period (for all years - the yearly average).
- VFR 67%
- MVFR 33%
- IFR <1%
- LIFR <1%
The top of each bar is the average daily high, the bottom the average daily low (usually around dawn), in °C.
Wind rose
- 1-10 kt
- 11-20 kt
- over 20 kt
- calm: 4%
Most often: SSW - 23% of reports. Each petal shows the direction the wind blows from (as in METAR) - the longer it is, the more often. Colour shows wind speed.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | VFR | IFR/LIFR | Fog days | Thunderstorm days | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24.9 | 19.7 | 99% | 0% | 0 | 0.4 | 0 |
| February | 26.7 | 20.8 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 25.3 | 19.7 | 98% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 23.4 | 18.4 | 90% | <1% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 19.9 | 16.9 | 47% | <1% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 18.9 | 16.1 | 40% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 18.0 | 15.4 | 34% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| August | 18.3 | 15.4 | 38% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| September | 18.8 | 15.7 | 42% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 19.9 | 16.2 | 59% | <1% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 21.3 | 17.4 | 76% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 22.7 | 18.1 | 91% | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Temperatures are averages of daily highs and lows. Day counts are the average per month over the period.
Runway headings and wind
The thresholds are oriented as follows: 01/19 on 10° and 190° magnetic. A threshold designator is its magnetic heading divided by ten (ICAO Annex 14), so the runway axis can be read straight off the numbers.
For the 01/19 axis, wind from the east (around 100°) or from the west (around 280°) blows perpendicular to the runway and produces the largest crosswind component. Wind from around 10° or 190° acts along the runway, as a headwind or a tailwind. The decoder on this page computes those components automatically from the current METAR.
METAR and TAF for SCDA
Weather reports for Diego Aracena International Airport (Iquique) are published under the ICAO code SCDA. A METAR is an observation of current conditions, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes; a TAF is a forecast for the airport area, typically covering 9 to 30 hours.
The decoder breaks the SCDA report down into its parts: wind direction and speed including gusts and variability, visibility (including CAVOK and directional minimum visibility), weather phenomena by WMO code, cloud layers with their bases, temperature and dew point, QNH pressure, and the resulting flight category - VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR - using FAA thresholds.
Not every airport issues its own reports; many smaller airfields have no weather station. If no current data is available for SCDA, check the nearby airports listed below.
Reports always use UTC (the Z suffix). The America/Santiago zone is GMT-03:00 in winter and GMT-04:00 in summer - that is the shift to apply to the time in the report to get local time at the airport.
The closest airports in the database, measured in a straight line from the reference point, are Coposa Airport (Pica) (SCKP, 158 km), Barriles Airport (Tocopilla) (SCBE, 179 km), El Buitre Airport (Arica) (SCAE, 226 km). When no report is available for SCDA, they usually give the best approximation of conditions in the area.
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Looking for a report from a specific day?
The METAR archive for SCDA goes back to 01/01/1973. Pick a date and see every observation from that day.
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