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José María Córdova International Airport is an
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...
located in the city of
Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...
, south-east of
Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...
, and is the second largest airport in Colombia after
El Dorado International Airport El Dorado International Airport is an international airport serving Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and its surrounding areas. The airport is located mostly in the Fontibón district of Bogotá, although it partially extends into the Engat ...
of
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
in terms of infrastructure and passenger service. The airport is named after
José María Córdova José María Córdova Muñoz, also known as the "Hero of Ayacucho", was a General of the Gran Colombian army during the Independence War of Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia from Spain. Born in 1799 to a humble merchant family in the Antioquia Depa ...
(sometimes spelled "Córdoba"), a Colombian army general who was a native of Ríonegro. It serves the
Medellín Metropolitan Area Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valle ...
and is the most important airport in the
Antioquia Department Antioquia () is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part o ...
. It was also the main hub for low-cost airline Viva Air Colombia until the airline ceased operating in February of 2023. It serves several international destinations, one of the busiest being the route to
Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its Miami metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1, ...
. It also serves the most flown route within Colombia: Medellín–Bogotá, which is mainly operated by
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...
and
LATAM Colombia Aerovías de Integración Regional S.A. (Acronym: ''AIRES'', lit. ''airs''), d/b/a LATAM Airlines Colombia (formerly known as LAN Colombia), is a Colombian airline. It is the second-largest air carrier in Colombia, after Avianca. It operates sc ...
. Freight transport is also one of the strengths of the terminal, providing air transportation to most of the flower exports (and other products) from Antioquia bound to the Americas and Europe.


Description

The airport serves all major international and some minor domestic routes for the Medellín metro area, in contrast to the in-town, yet much smaller
Olaya Herrera Airport Olaya Herrera Airport () is an airport located in Medellín, Colombia, that serves regional and domestic flights. Additionally, the airport is used by general aviation and features several hangars for charters. It was formerly known as ''Medel ...
, which serves the Medellín area with domestic flights only. The airport is about a 30 minute drive from the proper city of Medellín. The runway is also used by the nearby military base of the
Colombian Air Force The Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC, ) is the air force of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian Aerospace Force is one of the three institutions of the Military Forces of Colombia charged, according to the 1991 Constitution, with working to exe ...
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 NDB may refer to: Finance * National development bank, set up by a country's government to improve that country's economy * New Development Bank, a development bank jointly operated by the BRICS nations * NDB Bank, Sri Lankan commercial bank Pol ...
, and ILS, which makes navigation and landings safer in bad weather. 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 South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
, Central and
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
. The airport was built with a dome shaped roof and has two stories. The airport has 17 gates: 10 domestic and 7 international, with four gates being of mixed use. It has many restaurants and shops, including a duty-free shop after clearing security. There are also banks, money exchange, and
car rental A car rental, hire car or car hire agency is a company that rents automobiles for short periods of time to the public, generally ranging from a few hours to a few weeks. It is often organized with numerous local branches (which allow a user t ...
services.
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...
has a VIP room, and there are also several VIP lounges operated by Global Lounge Network. Outside the main building is a parking lot and garage, which includes an area for motorcycles.


History

In the 1970s, the need for a larger airport for the Antioquia province arose due to the limitations of the Olaya Herrera Airport caused by insufficient space to expand. 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 on August 29, 1985. During the same year,
Avianca Avianca S.A. (acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias de Colombia S.A.'', "Airways of Colombia", and stylized as avianca since October 2023) is the largest airline in Colombia. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it ...
conducted test flights of its
Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
, 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 Olaya Herrera airport was closed from 1986 until 1991. Today, the Olaya Herrera Airport still has significant passenger movements, because it is a main hub for domestic flights within Colombia and the preferred option for domestic flights out of Medellín. In January 2006, an
Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...
landed at the airport to conduct technical tests of the engines. This was the first time a plane of that type had landed on Colombian soil, and also the first time it happened in South America. In 2016, the airport handled 7,376,160 passengers, and 6,892,104 in 2017. In August 2019, a new highway opened, which cut the traveling time from the airport to Medellín from almost an hour to just 20 minutes. The route includes a tunnel called " Túnel de Oriente". The total cost of the project was 1.1 trillion pesos.


Renovation and expansion

The airport underwent an expansion and renovation that enlarged the domestic terminal from to and added five new gates to it, along with three new gates for the international terminal. The expansion increased the passenger handling capacity to 11 million annually. Other improvements included more food and shopping options, more digital displays with flight information, more car rental options, better airport connectivity with the parking lot, better airport connectivity to the parking garage, and the addition of a duty-free shop. The total cost of the works was 350 , and were completed in December 2017. The cargo terminal expansion was completed in February 2020 at a cost of around $110 million pesos. The terminal went from to .


Airlines and destinations


Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at the airport.


Cargo


Statistics


Accidents and incidents

* On May 19, 1993, SAM Colombia Flight 501 crashed into Mt. Paramo Frontino while making an approach to the airport. The crash killed all 132 people on board, and this was the worst accident of the year 1993. * On December 21, 1996, an Antonov An-32B aircraft (registration HK-4008X) operated by SELVA Colombia crashed while on final approach to runway 36. The aircraft had taken off from
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...
for its usual cargo flight to José María Córdova Airport with 6 tons of cargo. During the approach phase, the plane veered three miles to the left of the glide slope, then turned sharply right, finally crashing more than five miles from the south end of the airport. The crash killed all four occupants of the aircraft. * On December 22, 1998, an Antonov An-32B aircraft (registration HK-3930X) crashed while approaching the runway. The aircraft had taken off from Bogotá for a cargo flight to the airport. The accident occurred at dawn and weather conditions were very bad due to the dense fog that was present in the area. The accident killed all five occupants of the aircraft. A similar incident had occurred two years earlier, with a plane of the same company in similar circumstances. * On October 15, 2004, a
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper ...
(registration HK-1503) belonging to the company
Aerovanguardia Aerovanguardia is a defunct airline founded in 1993 in Colombia. The company had a total of 6 airplanes in the entirety of its history. The company out of all 6 of those airplanes, crashed 3 of them in Colombia. When the company became bankrup ...
took off from
La Vanguardia Airport La Vanguardia Airport is an airport serving the city of Villavicencio in the Meta Department of Colombia. It serves regular passenger, charter and cargo airlines as well as private sectors. The airport is just north of the city. Airlines and d ...
in
Villavicencio Villavicencio () is a city and municipality in Colombia. The capital of Meta Department, it was founded on April 6, 1840. The municipality had a population of 531,275 in 2018. The city is located at 4°08'N, 73°40'W, 75 km (about 45  ...
for a cargo flight to the airport. Shortly after takeoff, ATC informed the pilots that the airport was closed due to poor visibility caused by fog. The pilot decided to fly to the alternate Olaya Herrera Airport, but the aircraft collided with power cables during descent, crashing in a wooded area near the town of Santa Elena, west of
Rionegro Rionegro () is a city and municipality in Antioquia Department, Colombia, located in the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. The official name of the city is Ciudad Santiago de Arma de Rionegro. Rio Negro means "Black River" in Spanish, as the cit ...
, and killing all three occupants of the aircraft. * On June 7, 2006, a Tradewinds Airlines
Boeing 747-200F The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...
(registration N922FT) had an engine failure on takeoff. The pilot aborted the takeoff but the plane overran the runway by 150m. None of the six on board was injured, but the plane was substantially damaged, with the nose gear being completely sheared off. * On January 3, 2009,
American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...
Flight 924, a
Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...
, took off from Jose Maria Cordova Airport and had to make an emergency landing due to fire in one of its engines. Upon landing, the pilot was forced to use maximum braking, causing the brakes to overheat and one of the tires to explode. The airport was closed for four hours, but none of the 148 passengers on board were injured in the crash. * On November 28, 2016,
LaMia Airlines Flight 2933 LaMia Flight 2933 was a Air charter, charter flight of an Avro RJ85, operated by LaMia, that on 28 November 2016 crashed near Medellín, Colombia, killing 71 of the 77 people on board. The aircraft was transporting the first-team squad of Brazili ...
, a
Avro RJ85 The British Aerospace 146 (also BAe 146) is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manu ...
, crashed on its approach to the airport. The plane was carrying members of the Chapecoense football team who were on their way to compete in the 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals. There were 71 fatalities and six survivors in the accident.


See also

*
Transport in Colombia Transport in Colombia is regulated by the Ministry of Transport. Road travel is the main means of transport; 69 percent of cargo is transported by road, as compared with 27 percent by railroad, 3 percent by internal waterways, and 1 percent by ...
*
List of airports in Colombia This is a list of airports in Colombia, grouped by type and sorted by location. Airports Airport names shown in bold indicate the airport has scheduled service on commercial airlines. Notes * The served town of Chía is located in Cundin ...


References


External links

* *
Airplan - Website

OpenStreetMap - José María Córdova International Airport
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jose Maria Cordova International Airport Airports in Colombia Buildings and structures in Antioquia Department Airports established in 1985 1985 establishments in Colombia