Olaya Herrera Airport
Olaya Herrera Airport Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Commercial | ||||||||||
| Operator | AirPlan | ||||||||||
| Serves | Medellín | ||||||||||
| Location | Medellin | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,505 m / 4,940 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 06°13′11″N 75°35′25″W / 6.21972°N 75.59028°W | ||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2009) | |||||||||||
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Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport (Template:Lang-es) (IATA: EOH, ICAO: SKMD) is an airport located in Medellín, Colombia, which serves regional and domestic flights. Additionally, the airport is used by general aviation and features several hangars for charters. Olaya Herrera is the second busiest airport in Colombia by number of flights[citation needed].
Today, it is considered the main regional airport of the country[citation needed] due to the large number of scheduled and charter flights of this type operated to and from the airport. It was formerly known as Medellin International Airport prior to the construction of José María Córdova International Airport, located in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia, 29 km east of the city of Medellin. Between the two airports of Medellín, there were more than 4.7 million passengers per year[citation needed] , which makes it the second busiest passenger city in Colombia after Bogotá.
History
Don Gonzalo Mejia was a visionary and observer of commercial aviation in the 1920s and 1930s and saw a great opportunity for the development of it in Medellin because of its topography, that transport to and from an odyssey Medellín (who would like to travel by plane had to go to Puerto Berrio) decided to launch a struggle for the city to have its own airport.
Then he began his many efforts to ensure that Medellin had an airport, starting with securing the financial resources to Bountiful businessmen of the time, choose the same land where the airport should be built (roamed the hills surrounding Medellin a horse) and overcome all sorts of obstacles imposed by the local government then. Then managed to form the UMCA (Urabá Central Airways Medellin) and established as a subsidiary of Pan American Airways at the time was the dominant company's outlook for the global aviation and finally succeeded in opening the July 5, 1932 Airport Medellin Enrique Olaya Herrera, named in honor of President of Colombia at the time, who supported Don Gonzalo Mejía and his idea of an airport to Medellin.
In the 1940s the city was growing rapidly and new aircraft of the time required better facilities. Therefore Gonzalo Mejia, despite being very ill, returned to battle and succeeded in 1945 signed a contract for the expansion of the runway and the existing facilities, a work that was opened on May 1, 1947. The Airport continued to serve the city, but in the 1970s was being re-saturated and unable to meet the demand of the city air, so it was announced the construction of the José María Córdova International Airport in Rionegro. This resulted in the closure of the airport and the allocation of land to a park. However users are asked not to close the airport and the April 11, 1986 the airport began operations again. In that same year landed in the Olaya Herrera Pope Juan Pablo II and made some improvements, which also is called Aeroparque Juan Pablo II. In 1992 the Civil Aeronautics ruled that the airport was used in a strictly regional. Outside the arrival of Pope John Paul II Airport also recorded the death of Carlos Gardel in 1935.
It was also one of the mainstays of Carrier Aces from its source to its sad 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 value, cultural and architectural for the city of Medellin and Colombia. The airport was handed over by the national government in granting the operating company North Central Airport - Airplan, a company that is conducting a series of renovations and operations at the terminal at the time of this writing they are running.
Structure and Capacity
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (January 2011) |
The airport still retains its classification International Airport[citation needed] 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[clarification needed]: commercial flights can operate on aircraft of up to 50 passengers, with the exception of Satena[citation needed] 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[citation needed] 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[citation needed]. 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[citation needed]. Flight schools, Aviation Antioqueña Academy and the School of Aviation The Falcons, two of the most recognized in Colombia[citation needed], 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.[citation needed]
Aerolínea de Antioquia has its headquarters on the airport property and has six hangars to store and perform maintenance on their planes.[1] West Caribbean Airways, when it existed, had its corporate headquarters, operational center, and call center in Hangar 73 on the airport grounds.[2]
Modernization
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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:
- Extension of platform
- New control tower
- Boarding bridges
- Restructuring of the central dome
- New parking tower
- Walking trails
- Construction of a Cargo Terminal
- Expansion of baggage area
- New lighting system
- Flight arrival information
- Wide range of shops
- The adequacy of office space
- Opening of terraces
- Food court
- Information technology components: internet, WiFi, X-ray, CCTV.
- Improved Airport Health Service
- Improvement of fire services
- Construction of a VIP terminal
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. The IATA standard of service is the assessment that relates different flows and delays with the space available in each area of a passenger terminal, combisystems level A (excellent) to F nivel (collapsed), with four intermediate levels. Therefore, to achieve the required nievel prevalence should be given to the Aeras for each passenger.
Airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| ADA | Acandí, Apartadó, Armenia, Bahía Solano, Bucaramanga, Capurganá, Caucasia, Condoto, Corozal, Cúcuta, El Bagre, Manizales, Montería, Nuquí, Pereira, Quibdó, Remedios, Tolú |
| Aexpa | Bahía Solano, Condoto, Nuquí, Quibdó |
| EasyFly | Apartadó, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Montería, Quibdó |
| LAN Colombia | Apartadó, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta (via Bucaramanga), Ibagué, Montería, Pereira, Quibdó |
| Satena | Apartadó, Bahía Solano, Bogotá, Quibdó |
| Searca | Capurganá Seasonal: Condoto, Quibdó |
Accidents and incidents
- On June 24, 1935, internationally renowned Argentinian tango singer Carlos Gardel and a group of his musicians were killed in a collision between two small airplanes at the airport.
- On 31 March 1991, Vickers Viscount HK-1708 of Intercontinental de Aviación was damaged beyond economic repair while en route from El Dorado International Airport to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport. Both artificial horizons failed during turbulence at 16,000 feet (4,900 m). Control of the aircraft was regained at 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and a successful emergency landing was made at Olaya Herrera Airport. The lower main spar was found to have cracked. The aircraft had previously suffered a gear collapse on 14 February 1988.[3]
- On November 30, 1996, ACES Colombia flight 148 bound to Bahía Solano with a stopover in Quibdó, stalled and crashed into a mountain after takeoff. Of the 15 people onboard, 14 died in the crash. The cause of the stall and the subsequent crash was found to be the aircraft being overloaded.
- On 15 October 2004, Douglas DC-3C HK-1504 of AeroVanguardia flew into an electricity line and crashed near Medellín on approach to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport while performing a domestic cargo flight from La Vanguardia Airport, Villavicencio to José María Córdova International Airport, Medellín. The flight had been diverted from its intended destination due to fog. The three crew were killed.[4]
- On 18 February 2009, Basler BT-67 PNC-0211 of the Servicio Aéreo de Policía was destroyed by the accidental detonation of a number of hand grenades. Eight people were injured, four of them seriously. The aircraft was due to fly 25 police officers to El Caraño Airport, Quibdó.[5][6]
See also
References
- ^ "Contáctenos." Aerolínea de Antioquia. Retrieved on January 26, 2011. "www.ada-aero.com Aeropuerto Olaya Herrera Medellín-Colombia "
- ^ "PREGUNTAS FRECUENTES WEST CARIBBEAN AIRWAYS." West Caribbean Airways. August 11, 2003. Retrieved on January 26, 2011. "6. ¿Dónde quedan ubicadas las oficinas de West Caribbean Airways? Las oficinas principales, es decir, la sede administrativa, operaciones, el área comercial y el call center están ubicados en el hangar 73 del aeroparque Olaya Herrera."
- ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "HK-1504 Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ "PNC-0211 Hull-loss description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 21 June 2010.
- ^ "Ocho heridos deja el estallido accidental de una granada en un avión policial en Colombia" (in Spanish). Ultima Hora. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
External links
- Olaya Herrera Airport (Spanish)
- Colombia's Civil Aviation Authority Website (Spanish)
- Template:WAD