Airbus has conducted certification and demonstration flights with the A321XLR at Alcantarí International Airport in Bolivia, situated at an elevation of 3,104 meters. The tests validate the aircraft’s performance in low air density conditions typical of high-altitude operations.
Alcantarí Airport (IATA: SRE, ICAO: SLAL), located 32 kilometers southeast of Sucre, Bolivia’s constitutional capital, serves as the primary facility for the city since its inauguration in 2016. The airport replaced the previous Juana Azurduy de Padilla International Airport, which faced operational constraints due to its location.
The A321XLR, designed for extended range up to 4,700 nautical miles and flight durations of about 11 hours, features a permanent rear center tank adding 12,900 liters of fuel capacity, a maximum takeoff weight of 101 tonnes, and reinforced landing gear and wing structures. Powered by either CFM LEAP-1A or Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines, it targets long, thin routes previously requiring widebody aircraft.
These evaluations follow similar high-altitude testing at Toluca International Airport in Mexico, at 2,800 meters, where the prototype F-WXLR arrived on March 11 after a flight from Toulouse via Bermuda. There, Airbus performed hot-and-high assessments including takeoffs, landings, climbs, engine starts, low-speed taxiing, and rejected takeoff simulations to confirm reliability for operators.
The program supports the A321XLR’s certification process, nearing completion as of late 2024, with Iberia receiving the first production unit as launch operator.