Olaya Herrera Airport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Olaya Herrera Airport Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera
IATA: EOH ICAO: SKMD
Summary
Airport type	Commercial
Operator	Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste
Serves	Medellín, Colombia
Elevation AMSL	4,921 ft / 1,500 m
Coordinates	06°13′11″N 75°35′25″W / 6.21972°N 75.59028°W / 6.21972; -75.59028
Website	aeropuertomedellin.co
Map
EOH Location in Colombia
Runway
Runway Length Surface m ft 02/20 2,500 8,202 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Passengers movement 464,601
Source: Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste

Olaya Herrera Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera) is an important airport located in Medellín, Colombia. It mainly handles flights within Colombia, connecting Medellín to other cities and regions. It's also used for private planes and has many hangars for different aviation services.

This airport is now considered one of the most important regional airports in Colombia. This is because many regular and charter flights (special flights for groups) use it. Before 1985, it was known as Medellín International Airport. That changed when the new José María Córdova International Airport opened in Rionegro, about 19 kilometers east of Medellín. Together, these two airports serve millions of passengers each year, making Medellín the second busiest city for air travel in Colombia, after Bogotá.

In 2016, over 831,000 passengers used Olaya Herrera Airport. The next year, in 2017, this number grew to over 848,000 passengers.

History of Olaya Herrera Airport

A Colombian businessman named Gonzalo Mejía realized that Medellín needed an airport. Traveling by land to and from the city was hard because of the mountains. The closest airport was far away in Puerto Berrio. He got money from other wealthy business people and chose the perfect spot for the airport. Even though the local government created some challenges, he managed to make his dream happen.

Mejía started an airline called Uraba Medellin Central Airways. It became part of Pan American Airways, which was a very big airline at the time. The airport officially opened on July 5, 1932. It was named after Enrique Olaya Herrera, who was the president of Colombia then. He had supported Mejía's idea for the airport.

In the 1940s, Medellín was growing fast. Newer airplanes needed better places to land and take off. So, in 1945, Mejía signed a contract to make the runway longer and improve the airport buildings. This work was finished on May 1, 1947.

By the 1970s, the airport was too small for all the flights and passengers. So, plans were made to build a new, larger airport, the José María Córdova International Airport, in nearby Rionegro. When the new airport opened in 1985, Olaya Herrera Airport closed in 1986. The land was even planned to become a park.

However, many people wanted Olaya Herrera Airport to stay open. In 1991, it reopened, but only for flights within Colombia. This happened after a decision by Aerocivil, Colombia's aviation authority. In the same year it closed, the airport saw some improvements because Pope John Paul II visited the city in July. His visit also inspired the name for the park next to the airport: the Aeroparque Juan Pablo II.

Olaya Herrera Airport was also a main base for the airline ACES from its start until it closed in 2003.

Today, the airport is very busy and continues to grow. It is the second busiest airport in Colombia for the number of flights. On October 19, 1995, it was declared a national monument. This means it's very important for its history, culture, and architecture in Medellín and Colombia. In 2008, the Colombian government allowed a company called Airplan to manage Olaya Herrera Airport and five others. Airplan has been making many improvements to the airport terminal.

Airplan invested a lot of money to modernize the airport. This plan started in March 2009 and finished in 2014. The main goals were to make air travel safer, make passengers more comfortable, and meet international aviation rules. Olaya Herrera Airport has a special rating from IATA, showing its good operational standards.

Airport Structure and Capacity

There are rules about the size of planes that can use Olaya Herrera Airport because it's a regional airport. Most commercial flights can use planes that carry up to 50 passengers. However, one airline, Satena, can use larger planes that carry up to 76 passengers.

The airport has a passenger terminal with two waiting areas. These areas are located next to the main area where planes park, which can hold over 30 aircraft. Inside the terminal, you'll find a shopping area with banks, offices, and stores. There's also a food court, 11 check-in counters for airlines, and a smoking room. The terminal is also connected to Plaza Gardel, a nearby public space.

South of the terminal, there are 111 hangars. These are buildings where planes are stored and maintained. Many airlines, charter companies, cargo companies, and flight schools have their offices here. Aires Airlines even built a large hangar on the north side of the airport for plane maintenance. Flight schools like Aviation Antioqueña Academy and the Falcons School of Aviation also operate from the hangar area.

Airplan, the company that manages the airport, has plans for more improvements. These include completely updating the terminal building, building a new cargo terminal for goods, fixing the runway, adding new security systems, and making the waiting rooms and baggage claim areas larger and better. They also plan to build a new control tower and a special terminal for business flights. This new terminal aims to bring back international flights to the airport. New shopping areas are also part of the plans.

Aerolínea de Antioquia has its main office at the airport and uses six hangars for its planes. West Caribbean Airways, when it was still operating, also had its main offices and call center in Hangar 73 at the airport.

Airlines and Destinations

Entrance of the airport.

Here are some of the airlines that fly from Olaya Herrera Airport and the places they go:

Historical Airlines and Destinations

Before the larger José María Córdova International Airport opened in 1985, Olaya Herrera Airport also had many international flights. Here are some of the airlines that flew from there and their destinations:

Airport Statistics

Notable Events and Incidents

• On June 24, 1935, a sad event happened at the airport. The famous Argentinian tango singer Carlos Gardel and nine other people died when two airplanes crashed.

• On March 1, 1950, a C-47 plane from SAM crashed while trying to land. The plane was on a test flight after repairs. Bad weather caused it to lose height, and its wing hit a house. Two people on board died.

• On June 13, 1951, another C-47 plane from SAM crashed shortly after taking off. It was a cargo flight heading to Cartagena. The plane had technical problems and tried to return to the airport, but it crashed. The two crew members and one person on the ground died.

• On March 31, 1991, a Vickers Viscount plane from Intercontinental de Aviación made an emergency landing. It was a cargo flight from El Dorado International Airport in Bogota to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport on San Andrés Island. The plane had instrument problems during turbulence. After landing, it was found to be too damaged to be repaired.

• On November 30, 1996, ACES flight 148 crashed into a mountain shortly after takeoff. The flight was going to Bahía Solano with a stop in Quibdó. Out of 15 people on board, 14 died. The investigation found that the plane was too heavy, which caused it to stall and crash.

• On October 15, 2004, a Douglas DC-3C plane from AeroVanguardia crashed near Medellín. It hit electricity lines while trying to land at Olaya Herrera Airport. The flight was a cargo flight from La Vanguardia Airport to José María Córdova International Airport, but it was redirected to Olaya Herrera because of fog. All three crew members died.

• On February 18, 2009, a Basler BT-67 plane belonging to the Colombian National Police was damaged by an accidental explosion. Eight people were hurt. The plane was supposed to take police officers to El Caraño Airport in Quibdó.

See also

In Spanish: Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera para niños

• José María Córdova International Airport
• Medellín
• Transport in Colombia
• List of airports in Colombia