José María Córdova International Airport

Terminal view

Control tower

Terminal interior

The suburban, large airport serves all major international and domestic routes, in contrast to the in-town, yet much smaller Olaya Herrera Airport, which serves the Medellín area with domestic flights only. José María Córdova is set for a major expansion that will include new international terminals and an expansion of the cargo terminal. This is set to start next year according to the Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics. The airport is named after José María Córdova (sometimes spelled "Córdoba"), a Colombian army general who was a native of Ríonegro.

José María Córdova International Airport is the second in Colombia in total passenger and cargo also in international and national after the El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá. The runway is also used by the nearby military base in the Air Force of Colombia located in Rionegro, named Air Combat Command No. 5 (CACOM 5), where all types of military and national police aircraft arrive and depart.

The airport has air navigation aids such as VOR, NDB, and ILS, which allow greater ease of operation for pilots making navigation and landings safer in bad weather.[2][3][4]

In January 2006, an Airbus A380 landed at the air terminal (first time on Colombian soil) to conduct technical tests of the engines.

Antioquia's exports, mostly flowers and other products from the region, depart en route to international destinations from these terminals. The cargo operator Avianca Cargo has its main base at the airport, and operates flights to countries in South, Central and North America. Avianca Cargo has a ramp that can accommodate up to ten aircraft. All types of aircraft, including Boeing 747, Douglas DC-10, Boeing 767 are among the most common arrivals at the terminal. In addition, the terminal is near the customs area and airline hangars.

The airport has three restaurants and a shopping area, where there are banks, ATM's, money exchange, and car rentals. Avianca also has a VIP room inside the facility serving domestic and international flights. There is also a VIP airport lounge "The Lounge Medellin"[5] operated by Global Lounge Network.[6] Outside the main building is a parking lot with a capacity for 250 cars and an area for motorcycles. Long term parking is also provided.

In 2016, the airport handled 7,376,160 passengers, and 6,892,104 in 2017.

Between 1930 and 1932, three wealthy families in the metropolitan area of Medellín began with the idea of providing the city with an airport, as they were part of the Colombian Air Navigation Company which sought to carry passengers and mail from the city of Medellín to Puerto Berrio, along the Magdalena River and ultimately connect the cities of Medellín and Bogotá. One of the most important was Gonzalo Mejia, who in a very colloquial manner determined what would be the only place where an airport could be built; this location was later confirmed by the Curtis Wright firm based in New York City.

After several obstacles, the city of Medellín finally approved the construction of an unpaved runway about 974 m long, which would later become Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport. Companies like Saco and Scadta from the cities of Barranquilla and Bogotá soon began service. Then in the 70s the need for a larger airport for the province of Antioquia arose due to saturation and limitations of the Olaya Herrera Airport. Two sites were proposed for the new airport: one in the vicinity of the municipality of Barbosa northeast of the city, and another in the valley of San Nicolas in Rionegro, east of the city. The latter was selected and construction began.

The airport opened in 1985. During the same year, Avianca conducted test flights of its Boeing 747, first on the original runway at Olaya Herrera Airport, and then at the new José María Córdova. During this time the airport had significant movement of cargo and passengers, as the operations from the Olaya Herrera airport declined to almost zero (both airports today have traffic, but the Olaya Herrera airport only serves for domestic flights). José María Córdova is now the main airport for cargo and international flights from Medellín.

José María Córdova Airport anticipates that the modernization plan, which includes various infrastructure projects, will make this an airport terminal as attractive for tourists as for airlines.

Within the works, passengers will find security systems, flight information via digital displays, high-tech communication, passenger arrival lounges with shopping, improvement in health services, improvement in firefighting services, and improvement in baggage handling systems.

The objectives of the modernization and expansion plan are to ensure aviation safety and comfort of passengers and their companions, and to meet the requirements of ICAO, AEROCIVIL (the Colombian civil aviation authority) and IATA.

The transformation of José María Córdova International Airport also seeks to contribute to the country's competitiveness through the creation of spaces that enable optimal connectivity with other cities in the world, the development of new areas that are attractive to airlines, the creation of zones that favor the encounter of citizens and compliance with new policies of quality for passengers to enjoy the best service at time of travel.

• Transport in Colombia
• List of airports in Colombia

Media related to José María Córdova International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Accident history for José María Córdova International Airport at Aviation Safety Network
• Airplan - Website (in Spanish)
• OpenStreetMap - José María Córdova International Airport
• Current weather for Rionegro, Colombia at NOAA/NWS
• Airport information for José María Córdova International Airport at Great Circle Mapper.