The three main airports in Colombia

El Dorado airport

The main three Colombia airports They are located in the capital Bogota, and in the cities of Medellin y Cartagena de Indias. These are the three most important population centers in the country to which a large number of international tourists travel each year.

In total, 14 international airports operate throughout the country as well as 284 national and regional airports. Of the latter, the majority register a traffic of less than 20.000 passengers a year and nine of them are military. Only a hundred of Colombian airports are managed by administrations and public bodies, the rest are private.

El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá

The capital's airport (IATA code: BOG) is the main gateway for international travelers to Colombia. the third busiest airport in Latin America, only surpassed by the airports of Mexico City and Sâo Paulo-Guarulhos (Brazil).

It was opened in 1959 to replace the old Roof aerodrome. He was baptized with the name of Eldorado in honor of the old legend of the city lost in the jungle full of riches.

El Dorado International Airport is located about 15 kilometers west of Bogotá and at an altitude of 2.648 meters above sea level. Approximately 35 million passengers and more than 700.000 tons of cargo pass through its facilities each year.

El Dorado airport Bogota

Avianca is the most important of the airlines that operate at El Dorado Bogotá International Airport.

Some 30 airlines operate at this airport. The most prominent is Avianca, Colombia's flag carrier, which connects the country's capital with numerous domestic destinations and some thirty American and European cities. Since 1981 Avianca operates all its flights from its own terminal separate from the rest. This terminal is called Terminal 2 (T2) o Aerial Bridge Terminal. The rest of the companies work in the second terminal, called Terminal 1 (T1).

The Bogota airport has received numerous international awards and recognitions for the quality of its service and its facilities, which were remodeled and modernized in 2017.

For some years now, a project has been underway that contemplates the possibility of build a second airport for the capital of Colombia. The possible location of the same and date of commencement of the works are questions still pending to be decided.

José María Córdova International Airport, Medellín

The one of the city of Medellín is the second in importance of the airports of Colombia. His name is José María Córdova International Airport (IATA code: MDE), in honor of one of the most celebrated architects of the wars that led to the Independence of Colombia: José María Córdova, the «Hero of Ayacucho».

Medellin airport colombia

Interior of the international terminal of the José María Córdova airport in Medellín, with its unmistakable roof

It is a relatively modern airport, since it was built in 1985. It is located in the municipality of Rionegro, in the department of Antioquia, within the limits of the metropolitan area of ​​Medellín. In principle it was conceived to avoid saturation of the Olaya Herrera airport, which is still in operation today.

More than 9 million passengers use the services and facilities of this airport each year. It has a terminal exclusively dedicated to serving domestic flights and another for international flights. In this sense, its connectivity, with thirteen regular routes to different destinations on the American continent as well as a regular connection with the Adolfo Suárez airport in Madrid, Spain.

Currently the José María Córdova International Airport is managed by the Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR).

Rafael Núñez International Airport, Cartagena

With almost six million passengers a year, the third of Colombia's airports is the Rafael Núnez International Airport (IATA code: CTG), in the city of Cartagena. It takes its name from Cartagena neighborhood of Rafael Núñez, baptized thus in turn in honor of the three times president of the country.

Cartagena de Indias airport

The Rafael Núñez de Cartagena International Airport, one of the fastest growing in recent years

Its first installations date from 1947, giving rise to what was called Crespo airport, one of the first large airports in Colombia, publicly owned. It was renamed its current name in 1986 and privatized a decade later. At present, the Rafael Núñez International Airport is administered under the concession figure by the Sociedad Aeroportuaria de la Costa SA (SACSA).

The success of this airport, which has led it to unseat the Cali As the third in the country, it is due in large part to the correct management and economic impulse of international tourism, which since 2000 has set its sights on the beaches of the Colombian Caribbean.

The growing volume of passengers and air routes has led the managers of the Cartagena de Indias airport to consider the dilemma of expanding the facilities of the current airport or building a new airport near the town of Bayunca, north of the city.


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