Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
An American Airlines flight from Guayaquil to Miami returned to Jose Joaquin de Olmedo airport on June 7 after departing at 14:49. The aircraft had advanced toward Esmeraldas before changing course back to Guayaquil.
Primicias reports Quito will suspend the Paseo Dominical on May 31 because the Quito 15K and 21K races overlap with several sections of the route. The races start in south Quito and finish at Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa.
Primicias reports Quito's AMT will exonerate the calendar fine for vehicles with license plates ending in 4 after ANT and municipal system failures. Owners can complete technical review and matriculation through November 2026 without that sanction.
Primicias reports that Quito's AMT resolved its payment-order system failures on May 27, 2026. The six vehicle review centers will keep extended hours through Saturday, May 30, to process delayed review and registration work.
Loja's city council archived a proposal to raise the urban bus fare from 30 to 36 cents, but the transport consortium says the suspension of service remains indefinite. Expreso reports students, workers and merchants are being hit hardest while legal action seeks to restore service.
Primicias reports that Quito canceled the public-private partnership initiative for Ruta Viva and will keep the airport corridor under municipal administration. The road connects Quito with Mariscal Sucre airport and the eastern valleys, including Cumbayá and Tumbaco.
Ecuador's traffic agency says the SUIT platform is still affecting license issuance, appointments, web certificates and vehicle-registration processes tied to municipal GADs. La Hora reports Monday and Tuesday appointments will be reprogrammed with priority.
The Battle of Pichincha holiday falls on Sunday in 2026, so Ecuador's mandatory rest day shifts to Monday, May 25. Expreso reports the country will have a three-day weekend, with no Friday transfer.
Road rehabilitation work means lane closures on two sections of northern Quito's main highway starting May 7. Central lanes stay open, but if you commute through Calderón or Carapungo, plan ahead.
After Monday's paralysis that stranded 1.5 million commuters, Quito's blue buses resumed normal service Wednesday. But the underlying dispute is heading to formal negotiations on May 13, and a fare increase to /bin/zsh.65 is on the table.
Quito woke up without bus service on May 5 as operators cut hours to protest the end of diesel subsidies. The city handles 2 million transit trips daily, and 1.5 million of them depend on these buses.
Ecuador's health regulator found Listeria monocytogenes in a batch of La Artesanal chocolate ice cream made by Helados Novísimo. The lot has been pulled from shelves and the factory suspended. Here's the lot number and what to do.