The history of the Fokker F-28 in Ecuador began in the mid-1980s with the addition of the dual-registration airframe #11220 F-28 Mk.4000 to the fleet of Transportes Aéreos Militares Ecuatorianos (TAME). The airline had been founded in 1962 by the Ecuadorian Air Force with the constitutional mission of integrating the country's most remote regions, promoting social and economic development by transporting passengers and cargo where private enterprise did not consider it profitable to operate. It is worth noting that it operated as a commercial entity competing in the civil market, but its administrative, managerial, and operational structure depended directly on the Air Force. The crews were also composed of Air Force personnel holding civil commercial licenses, which allowed for an immediate transition from airline service to military logistical transport and evacuation missions in the event of a national emergency.
This first F-28 was incorporated into Transport Wing No. 11 (Ala de Transporte Nro. 11), under the Air Operations and Defense Command and the Air Transport Command, bearing the civil registration HC-BMD and, concurrently, the military serial FAE-220, christened “Ciudad de Loja”. The F28 proved ideal for operating at this city's airport, which featured a very short runway surrounded by challenging topography—impossible to operate with the large and heavy Boeing 727s, and complex for the HS-748s, whose performance was often insufficient due to the prevailing hot and high conditions at the airfield. Once again highlighting its short-field capabilities, rough-field tolerance, structural strength, speeds, and overall performance, the Fokker stood out in that hostile environment. From January 1985 to March 1999, this F28 was fundamental for this destination, where it operated solitary amid the absence of other operators in the area. A journey from Quito by land meant a winding and rugged trip of more than fifteen hours, which was reduced to about 50 minutes thanks to TAME's option with its Fellowship.
Another prominent route was Quito – Tulcán – Cali, operated since the signing of the "Border Integration Agreement" between Ecuador and Colombia in 1992. This international route, regularly operated by the F-28, became a key driver for binational trade and passenger flow across the northern border. Tulcán, located at more than 2,900 meters above sea level, presented low air density conditions that severely penalized the takeoff run of most commercial aircraft; however, the F-28-4000, thanks to its optimized thrust-to-weight ratio and extended wingspan, was capable of taking off from this terminal with full passenger loads toward Colombian territory.
Oil exploration in Ecuador's Amazon region demanded the continuous transfer of engineers, geologists, heavy tools, and technical personnel to rustic and humid asphalt runways in the heart of the jungle. TAME operated daily flights with the Fokker F-28 to El Coca, Lago Agrio, and Macas, where the aircraft successfully withstood continuous operations on these deteriorated asphalt runways.
During the armed escalation of the Cenepa border conflict, which pitted the military forces of Ecuador and Peru against each other in the eastern region of the Cordillera del Cóndor in early 1995, the Ecuadorian Air Force executed a massive logistical mobilization. Under the direct control of the Joint Command of the Armed Forces, Transport Wing No. 11 mobilized a total of 2,930,006 pounds of military cargo, including ammunition, disassembled artillery pieces, aeronautical spare parts, and essential field supplies. In this critical effort, TAME's Fokker F-28s played a fundamental strategic role in the mobilization of military human resources. While heavy cargo aircraft like the C-130 Hercules or the Lockheed L-100-30 handled the transport of supplies to forward bases and unpaved strips, the F-28s took over a rapid airlift to transfer infantry troops, special battalions, and reserve combat pilots from the main bases in the north and center of the country to the logistical airfields in the south of the Republic. Furthermore, the F28s supported complex logistical schemes for the supply of aviation fuels (Class IIIA), mobilizing maintenance specialists and aeronautical engineers essential to sustain the operational readiness of the Mirage F1 and Kfir C2 supersonic squadrons at Taura Air Base and other tactical deployment points.
In March 1999, this solitary F-28 was reinforced with a second aircraft, airframe #11112, coming from Scandinavian Airlines. It was registered as HC-BZU / FAE-112 and christened "Morona Santiago".
The fleet's operability was shaken in January 2003 when, as a result of a runway excursion at Quito Airport, the veteran HC-BMD “Ciudad de Loja” was declared a hull loss (total loss). Consequently, TAME had to urgently acquire a third Fokker F-28 airframe to avoid disrupting air connectivity with Loja and the Amazon region.
In December 2003, they incorporated what would be the third and final Fokker unit, serial #11228, registered as HC-CEH / FAE-228 and christened “Ciudad de Loja”, surely as a form of tribute to its predecessor and its important mission accomplished over all those years in that region of the country.
By the year 2006, TAME began a profound fleet modernization, incorporating Embraer and ATR aircraft and phasing out the long-lived Fokker fleet. The aircraft were left awaiting their fate at the old Quito airport, where they remained until its definitive closure in 2013, before finally being scrapped.
All F-28 fleet in one picture, HC-CEH (cn.11228) & HC-BZU (cn.11112)
TAME F-28 fleet
* msn 11220 Mk.4000 HC-BMD/ FAE-220 dd 20Dec1985.
* msn 11112 Mk.4000 HC-BZU/ FAE-112 dd 30Mar1999.
* msn 11228 Mk.4000 HC-CEH/ FAE-228 dd 26Feb2004.
