Olaya Herrera Airport

History

Don Gonzalo Mejia saw an opportunity for the development of an airport in Medellin given that the topography of the city made land transport to and from the area difficult, and the nearest airport was in Puerto Berrio.

He secured financing from wealthy businessmen of the time, chose the land where the airport sits today and overcame obstacles imposed by the local government. He formed the UMCA (Urabá Central Airways Medellin) and established it as a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, which at the time had the outlook of becoming the dominant player in global aviation. The airport opened on July 5, 1932, and was named after the then president of Colombia, Enrique Olaya Herrera, who supported Don Gonzalo Mejía and his idea of an airport in Medellin.

In the 1940s the city was growing rapidly and new aircraft of the time required better facilities. Therefore, Gonzalo Mejia, signed a contract in 1945 for the expansion of the runway and the existing facilities, a work that was completed on May 1, 1947. In the 1970s, the airport was again saturated and unable to meet the demand, so the construction of new and larger José María Córdova International Airport in the nearby locality of Rionegro was announced. This resulted in the closure of Olaya Herrera Airport and the reallocation of its land to a park. Passengers, however, asked the airport not be closed, and on April 11, 1986, the airport began operations again. In that same year, the airport saw some improvements as a result of the visit of Pope John Paul II to the city. It also inspired the name for the park which remained on the western portion of the grounds of the airport: the Aeroparque Juan Pablo II. In 1992 Aerocivil ruled that the airport was to be used strictly for regional flights.

It was also one of the mainstays of carrier ACES from its beginnings to its demise in August 2003. Today it is an airport with heavy use and constant growth (second in number of operations in Colombia) and was declared a national monument on October 19, 1995, for its historical, cultural and architectural value for the city of Medellin and Colombia. In 2008, the national government gave the airport along with 5 others in Colombia under concession to operating company Airplan, which is conducting a series of renovations to the terminal (at the time of writing they are ongoing).

Structure and Capacity

The airport still retains its classification International Airport even though it only operates domestic and regional flights. The runway is 2,508 m long and is at an altitude of 1,506 MSL. Currently there are restrictions on the type of aircraft operating from the airport due to its classification as regional airport: commercial flights can operate on aircraft of up to 50 passengers, with the exception of Satena that operates Embraer 170 aircraft carrying up to 76 passengers.

The passenger terminal has two waiting rooms with access to the main platform (the latter has a capacity of over 30 aircraft). It also has a shopping area with banking establishments, offices and shops, a food court, 11 double counters, airline check-in, a smoking room, and close connection with the Plaza Gardel.

It has large LCD screens provided by Scala to give information of flights, and times of arrival and departure of aircraft.

The airport has 111 hangars located south of the terminal, where the executive offices of several commercial, charter, and cargo airlines, as well as flight schools can also be found. Aires Airlines built a hangar on the north end of the airport in order to service aircraft and reaffirm their commitment to Medellin and the new base of operations at the airport. Flight schools, Aviation Antioqueña Academy and the School of Aviation The Falcons, two of the most recognized in Colombia, operate from the hangar area as well.

Along with five others, the airport was given in concession to private operator Airplan to manage. The proposed works include a total refurbishment of the terminal, the construction of a cargo terminal, repairing the track platform, implementing new security systems, the expansion and refurbishment of waiting rooms and baggage claim belts, construction of a new control tower on the west side, construction of a business aviation terminal that will serve domestic and international flights of this type (with the intention of encouraging the return of international flights to the airport), new shopping areas, among others.

Aerolínea de Antioquia has its headquarters on the airport property and has six hangars to store and perform maintenance on their planes. West Caribbean Airways, when it existed, had its corporate headquarters, operational center, and call center in Hangar 73 on the airport grounds.

Modernization

With an investment of more than US$27 million, Airplan began the transformation under the parameters defined in its concession contract with the Aeronáutuica Public Establecimeinto Olaya Herrera. The modernization plan began in March 2009 and ends in 2014.

The main works to be advanced at the airport are:

Among the main objectives are to ensure aviation safety, the comfort of passengers, and meeting the requirements of ICAO, Aerocivil, and IATA. It is worth mentioning that the Olaya Herrera Airport operational spaces have Category B, according to IATA.

Accidents and incidents