Olaya Herrera Airport is the local domestic airport located in Medellín with the airport code EOH. This airport is conveniently located in the southwest part of Medellín, which makes it relatively easy to get to compared to going to José María Córdova Airport in Rionegro.
With the taxi fare to José María Córdova Airport now 80,000 pesos from El Poblado or 80,000 pesos, the much shorter distance to Olaya Herrera Airport located in Medellín means you could easily save over $25 on taxi fares compared to flying out of José María Córdova.
In addition, you can save time considering it can take at least 35-40 minutes to get to José María Córdova Airport. Also, we looked at how to get to Medellín from the two airports.
Some readers of the Medellin Guru site asked about Medellín’s Olaya Herrera domestic airport, so we provided a guide in this article.
Note the above photo of Olaya Herrera Airport is by Kamilokardona.
Air traffic control tower at Olaya Herrera Airport
History of Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH)
Medellín didn’t have an airport until July 5, 1932, when this airport first opened. The airport was named for the President of Colombia at the time, Enrique Olaya Herrera, who supported the airport project in Medellín.
By the 1940s, Medellín was growing rapidly and new aircraft at the time required better facilities. So, the airport was expanded.
In the 1970s, the airport was again saturated and it was impossible to expand this airport anymore to meet the growing needs of the city. So, a decision was made to build a larger airport in Rionegro. Rionegro was reportedly chosen as it was the nearest place that was big enough which would work as a location to build a larger international airport.
When José María Córdova airport in Rionegro finally opened in 1985, Olaya Herrera Airport was closed and the airport’s land was reallocated for a park. However, passengers in Medellín asked for the airport not be closed. So, on April 11, 1986, Olaya Herrera Airport began operations again.
In 1992, Aerocivil ruled that Olaya Herrera Airport was to be used only for regional domestic flights. In addition, the airport is used by general aviation and it has several hangars for charters.
Furthermore, in 1995, Olaya Herrera Airport was named a National Monument of Colombia for its historical, cultural and architectural value for the city of Medellín and Colombia.
In 2017, Olaya Herrera Airport had 848,525 passenger movements which was up from 831,181 in 2016. This compares to 6,892,104 passenger movements in 2017 at José María Córdova airport.
Check-in area at Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH)
Flight Options from Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH)
Olaya Herrera Airport has flights available from two different airlines to/from 12 different domestic destinations in Colombia.
- EasyFly – Apartadó, Armenia, Bucaramanga, Cartagena (note Cartagena resumes service and starts on March 9, 3021 with four weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays) Corozal, Cúcata, Manizales, Montería, Pereira and Quibdó.
- Satena – Apartadó, Bahía Solano, Bogotá, Nuquí and Quibdó.
Olaya Herrera Airport used to have a third airline, ADA with flights to Acandí, Apartadó, Armenia, Bahía Solano, Caucasia, Corozal, El Bagre, La Macarena (charter), Montería, Pereira, Quibdó and Tolú. But ADA suspended operations on March 29, 2019 due to financial problems.
The domestic flights out of this airport utilize smaller planes. This is due to restrictions on the type of aircraft used at the airport because of its classification as a regional airport.
ADA plane at the airport, ADA suspended operations on March 29, 2019
Commercial flights at the airport can reportedly operate using aircraft with up to 50 passengers. But Satena has an exception as it operates Embraer 170 aircraft carrying up to 76 passengers.
Ground floor food court at the airport
Food Options
There are two food court areas at the airport. There is a small food court on the ground floor which has a few options including Dogger, Dunkin’ Donuts and Beer Express.
Second floor food court at the airport
In addition, there is a second food count on the second floor with additional food options including Presto and Frutos de Bahía Solano. This second floor food court is located near an outdoor observation area overlooking the tarmac. Note that you aren’t permitted to take photos from this observation area.
How to Get To/From Olaya Herrera Airport
Olaya Herrera Airport is located a short 5-minute, minimum fare (5,600 pesos) taxi ride from the Poblado metro station on Line A of the Medellín Metro. In fact, it’s a short enough distance from the Poblado metro station to the airport that it’s walkable in about 15 minutes.
In addition, any taxi drivers in the city will know where Olaya Herrera Airport is located. Also, the airport is conveniently located one block from the South Bus Terminal (Terminal del Sur).
The South Bus Terminal is conveniently located only one block from the airport
Website: http://aeropuertoolayaherrera.gov.co/
Address: Carrera 65A #13-157, Medellín
Phone: +57 4 365 6100
Airports in Colombia
We have provided guides to the 10 largest airports in Colombia. The following list of these 10 largest airports in Colombia is in order by passenger traffic:
- El Dorado Airport (BOG) – Bogotá’s International Airport and the largest airport in Colombia.
- José María Córdova (MDE) – Medellín’s International Airport in Rionegro.
- Rafael Núñez Airport (CTG) – Cartagena’s International Airport.
- Alfonso Bonilla Aragón Airport (CLO) – Cali’s International Airport in Palmira.
- Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport (BAQ) – Barranquilla’s International Airport.
- Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport (ADZ) – San Andrés’ International Airport.
- Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR) – Santa Marta’s International Airport.
- Matecaña International Airport (PEI) – Pereira’s International Airport.
- Palonegro Internationa Airport (BGA) – Bucaramanga’s International Airport.
- Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH) – Medellín’s domestic airport in the city.
We also looked at how to find cheap international flights to Medellín and Colombia. In addition, we looked at how to find cheap domestic flights in Colombia.
Tribute to Carlos Gardel outside one of the entrances to the airport. Gardel was a famous Argentinian tango singer who tragically died in a collision between two planes at the airport in 1935.
The Bottom Line: Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH)
Over the past eight years, I have flown out of Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH) several times. And I have found that it is a much more convenient airport for flying to domestic destinations in Colombia than José María Córdova Airport.
You can save both money and time on your transportation to/from the airport by flying out of Olaya Herrera Airport.
Unfortunately, in the past there weren’t any flights from this domestic airport to the coast in Colombia like to Cartagena. But this changes on March 9, when EasyFly restarts service to Cartagena with lights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. So, now it will be quicker to get to Cartagena using the Olaya Herrera Airport instead of the further out José María Córdova Airport (MDE).
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Editors note: updated on March 29, 2019 with information that ADA Airlines suspended operations from Olaya Herrera Airport due to financial problems.
Editors note: updated on March 4, 2021 with information that EasyFly resumes flights from Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellín to Cartagena on March 9.