Medellín is one of the few cities in Colombia that has two airports available for commercial travel: José María Córdova International Airport and Olaya Herrera Regional Airport. Each of them has a very different flight offer and the way of transportation to and from them is also very different.
After using Medellin’s airports dozens of times to travel both inside and outside Colombia, I decided to prepare this guide where I tell you everything you need to know if you plan to visit Medellin by air.
Jose Maria Cordova Airport [Rionegro]
This airport is the most important gateway to the Paisa capital. But something that few people know is that it is not actually located within the city of Medellin, but in a neighboring city called “Rionegro”, which is located 24 kilometers away.
All major domestic and international airlines with direct connections to Medellín arrive through this airport. These include Viva Air, Avianca, Latam Airlines, Wingo, Ultra Air, Spirit, American Airlines, Copa Airlines, among others.
If your flight to Medellin is from any city in Colombia (except Antioquia towns) or any other country, you will most likely arrive at Rionegro airport. Therefore, you have to plan from now on that your arrival time at your hotel, Airbnb or place where you are going to stay will be at least one more hour after your plane lands.
Although this airport has only one terminal and is small, we could say that it is divided into two sections. The north section (left hand side facing the runway), where the boarding and arrival gates for international flights are located, and the south section (right hand side facing the runway) where the gates for domestic flights are located.
All incoming flights, both domestic and international, have the same departure point: the airport basement. Here you will find the terminal’s official cabs, the pick-up point for private vehicles and the parking lot for buses.
The only difference between arriving by domestic vs. international flight is that in the latter case you will have to go through an immigration process to register your entry into the country (applies to both Colombians and foreigners). In my experience, this can be a 20-60 minute process, depending on your arrival time.
Likewise, when leaving Medellín from José María Córdova Airport, you must go through an immigration line of about 30 minutes before arriving at the waiting rooms.
On the other hand, the security check for domestic flights is fairly straightforward and in the worst case could involve standing in line for 15 minutes.
How to arrive or depart from Jose Maria Cordova Airport?
| Prices from/to Medellín airport | |
| By Taxi | 120,000 COP each way |
| In mobility apps | Between $130,000 and $160,000 COP each way |
| By Bus | $15,000 each way |
| By private vehicle | $7,000 per day of parking |
The ways to get to the Rionegro airport are by car, bus or cab. You should know that although Medellin has a fairly complete public transportation system, neither the metro, nor the metrocables, nor the streetcar connect directly to the airport. The best option will depend on your budget and time available.
By Taxi
To get to the airport by cab, you can take any Yellow Taxi from the city of Medellin. The standard cab fare is $90,000. Note that this cost already includes the toll payment, so your cab driver should not ask you for additional money. In the same way, you should consider that if you take the cab on the street, you should have cash and local currency.
In case you don’t have or don’t want to use cash, you can use Cabify or Didi, two apps that offer you the option to pay for a cab with a credit card.
If you want to know how to get to Medellin by cab from the Rionegro airport, the only option is to take a white cab, located in the basement of the airport. Yellow cabs from the city of Medellin are not allowed to pick up passengers at the airport, so you will not normally see any available.
In mobility applications Uber / Didi / Cabify / In driver
All of these applications give you the option to request a private vehicle for travel to or from Rionegro airport. For several years I worked as a marketing manager for both Uber and Cabify and I can assure you that both options are quite reliable and safe to travel with.
But there is one detail you should consider. Transportation in private vehicles through these applications is not regulated in Colombia, and this means that when it comes to picking you up or taking you to the airport, they make some special requests that may sound strange to you. I’ll tell you about some of them:
One of the most common is that drivers ask you to ride next to them in the front seat. They do this mainly to avoid arousing suspicion before police controls, which could fine them if they discover that they are transporting passengers by means of apps.
Another request that is quite common is to be asked to pick you up on the second floor of the airport (above the basement). This is quite common, as drivers want to avoid any direct contact with official airport cab drivers.
Finally, it is common for them to try to call you on your phone to “arrange” a pick-up point. If you don’t have a local phone line my suggestion is to use the apps chat or contact them via Whatsapp. You can take advantage of the airport’s free Wifi network for this purpose.
By Bus
The cheapest option to arrive or depart from José María Córdova airport is by bus. This bus can cost $15,000 pesos per person ($4 dollars). The bus will transport you to the San Diego Mall, where you will probably have to take a cab or Uber to your final destination.
In your own vehicle
If you want to get to the airport in your own or rented car, you can do so. And for this you have two options. The first is to leave the vehicle in the official airport parking lot and the second is to leave it in one of the nearby parking lots.
If you take the official option you must take into account that the cost of parking is quite high: $26,000 Colombian pesos per day (about 5 dollars). However, it is the most comfortable and direct option, since you are just a few steps away from the boarding gates without having to use any other means of transportation.
But if you want to save money and at the same time have a little comfort, you can leave your car in nearby parking lots such as Ecopark, El Rompoy or San Jose that give you the possibility to leave your car one kilometer from the airport and then take you in a van to the boarding gate, at no additional cost. This option can cost you between $7,000 and pesos per day (just under 2 dollars).
Another cost you should consider is the cost of tolls, which is $19,000 each way. This price must be paid in cash
Internet at José María Córdova airport
One of the most common questions you may have when you are traveling (especially if you are from another country) is whether there is internet at the airport. Fortunately, you have the possibility to connect free of charge to the Rionegro-JMC Airport Wifi network for periods of 30 minutes.
In fact, the quality of the internet is quite good. I have used it to have video calls for my work, view social networks, download files and in general it is perfect.
Covid-19 Restrictions at Rionegro airport
Currently, no vaccination card or negative covid test is required to enter the airport. These requirements may be requested by airlines depending on your country of destination. One thing that is mandatory is the use of surgical masks inside the airport. But to tell the truth, the authorities are only strict about this at access control points and immigration processing lines.
Schedule: Is it possible to stay overnight at the airport?
Medellin’s JMC airport is open 24 hours a day, because it has departures and arrivals of airplanes almost all the time. If you are thinking of spending the night there, be aware that the temperature drops. I recommend that you dress warmly.
On the other hand, the airport does not have very comfortable chairs for overnight stays, so you would probably have to sleep on the floor.
Another point to consider is that most businesses (restaurants and stores) close after 10 pm. The same applies to VIP lounges.
In general, after 11 p.m. and until 5 a.m., there will not be much life in the place. But no one will stop you from staying.
Olaya Herrera Airport [Dentro de Medellín]
This airport is the connection point to rural or intermediate destinations in Antioquia and Colombia. Unlike the Rionegro airport, the Olaya Herrera is located just a couple of kilometers from El Poblado, one of the most important tourist and hotel areas of the city.
Only local airlines such as Satena and EasyFly operate in this area, using smaller aircraft and connecting Medellín with areas such as Urabá, towns in the Caribbean and municipalities in southern Colombia.
However, Olaya Herrera does not have any flight options with very touristic destinations in Colombia, such as Cartagena, Santa Marta and San Andres. And it has only a few connections with cities such as Cali and Medellin, which are naturally more expensive because they give the traveler the option of landing directly in the city.
How to arrive or depart from Olaya Herrera Airport?
The options for arriving or departing from Olaya Herrera airport are by Taxi, Bus, mobility Apps or private vehicle.
As it is an airport within the city, arriving or departing from there has no different characteristics than any other destination within Medellín. Therefore, prices will depend on your point of origin/destination and the means of transportation you choose.
My recommendation is that you do it by cab or mobility apps, as the airport is in a very central point of the city and in most cases you will not have to pay more than $25,000 Colombian pesos (a little more than 5 dollars).
If you wish to arrive in your own vehicle, you can also do so, since the Medellín airport has a parking service. In this case, you must pay $24,000 Colombian pesos per day (about $5 dollars).
Internet Olaya Herrera Airport
As in the Rionegro airport, the Medellin airport has free Wifi service. This is because both airports are operated by the same company.
Schedule: Is it possible to stay overnight at Olaya Herrera airport?
The schedule at Medellin’s Olaya Herrera airport is much more limited than that of Rionegro. This is because this terminal does not have a night flight operation. In fact, the airport opens at 4:30 in the morning and closes very early, at 6:00 in the evening. For obvious reasons you cannot spend the night there, so if your flight is very early, you will have to arrive at opening time.
¡Hola, soy Jorge! Medellinense por obligación y convicción. He vivido en dos países y cuatro ciudades. He viajado por el mundo (Suramérica, Centroamérica, Norteamérica y Europa). Pero debo decirte algo, para mí no hay ninguna ciudad como Medellín.
Después de haber compartido con grandes anfitriones, me propuse algo: si alguien viene a “medallo” voy a asegurarme de contarle todo lo que debe saber para enamorarse de ella. Y aquí me tienes. 30 años viviendo en Medellín y unos 10 años viajando por aquí y por allí me han dado un poco de experiencia para poder compartirte y contarte lo que sé sobre mi ciudad.
0 Comment