Ecuador's Boeing 737-500 enters service
The Ecuadorian Air Force inducted its new Boeing 737-500 into service, identified by the registration FAE-640, on 7 January 2026. (Ministerio de Defensa Nacional del Ecuador)
The Ecuadorian Air Force (FAE) inducted into service a Boeing 737-500, identified by the registration FAE-640, on 7 January 2026, the FAE announced.
The ceremony took place at the Simón Bolívar Air Base and was presided over by Acting President María José Pinto, accompanied by Minister of National Defense Gian Carlo Loffredo and other military officials.
According to the Ecuadorian Ministry of National Defense, the aircraft was acquired for approximately USD6 million. It was purchased second-hand in the United States, where it had been in storage after serving with several airlines in Europe and the Caribbean.
Received in October 2025, the aircraft underwent test flights, structural inspections, engine and communications testing, painting with the institutional colours and schemes, and airworthiness certification for its official entry into service by the air force's Directorate of Aeronautical Industry (DIAF), the FAE said at the time.
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