Ecuador is really two repatriation cases wearing one name: the Andean and coastal mainland, and the Galapagos Islands, a thousand kilometres out in the Pacific.
Two mainland cargo hubs
Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport sits in the Andean highlands; Guayaquil’s Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport sits on the Pacific coast. Which one matters for a given case depends on where the death occurred and which city’s forensic facilities were used. For a natural death with documentation already in order, ten to fourteen days is realistic from either.
The Fiscalia holds the real power
Any unnatural, violent, or suspicious death puts the case in the hands of the Fiscalia General del Estado, the Prosecutor’s Office. It orders a post-mortem through the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal, and nothing moves until its release order is issued. That’s not a formality. It’s the document that actually authorises repatriation, and in straightforward accident cases it typically takes ten to fourteen days. Where there’s any hint of criminal suspicion, the timeline extends well beyond that.
The Galapagos add a step nobody expects
A death on the islands means evacuation, by commercial flight or charter, to Guayaquil before the mainland process can start at all. Local island police notify the Fiscalia on the mainland, but the physical distance is real: two to four days just to get the case to where the paperwork can begin.
No direct route home
There’s no direct flight from Ecuador to the UK. American Airlines via Miami to Heathrow is the standard cargo path, with Avianca via Bogota and Iberia via Madrid as alternatives. A multi-leg cargo route adds a day or two on top of the documentation timeline.
What we can offer
We coordinate the Galapagos evacuation step early, rather than letting it sit as a surprise once the mainland paperwork is already under way.
Read about what happens after an unexplained death abroad, or see the full Ecuador repatriation guide for the complete picture.
Contact Repatriate Service on +44 7703 577246 at any hour, or use the enquiry form below.