A small island north of Santa Cruz, Baltra is serviced by Tame airlines with two daily flights from the mainland. Baltra is connected to Santa Cruz Island by a ferry that crosses the Itabaca channel daily. The port is used by the Ecuadorian Navy and is also the site of an air force base.
Baltra Airport was built by the Americans during World War II, as an Army base to defend the Panama Canal. Today, it is a civil and military airport, as well as a naval base.