Olaya Herrera Airport () is an airport located in Medellín, Colombia, that serves regional and domestic flights. Additionally, the airport is used by general aviation and features several hangars for charters. Today, it is considered the main regional airport of the country due to the large number of scheduled and charter flights operated to and from the airport. It was formerly known as Medellin International Airport prior to the opening of José María Córdova International Airport in the year 1985, which is located in the nearby municipality of Rionegro, east of Medellin. Between the two airports, there were more than 3.5 million passengers per year, which makes it the second busiest passenger city in Colombia after Bogotá. In 2016, the airport handled 831,181 passengers, and 848,525 in 2017. History Colombian businessman Gonzalo Mejía saw an opportunity for the development of an airport in Medellin, given that the mountainous topography surrounding the city made land transport to and from the area difficult, and that the nearest airport was in Puerto Berrio. He secured financing from wealthy businessmen, chose the land where the airport sits today and overcame obstacles imposed by the local government. He founded Uraba Medellin Central Airways and established it as a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, which at the time had the prospect 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 had supported 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, Mejía 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 over capacity and unable to meet 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 in 1986, a year after the new airport opened, and the reallocation of its land to a park. However, many people asked for the airport to remain open, and in 1991, it reopened with only domestic flights after a ruling by Aerocivil. In the same year it closed, the airport saw some improvements as a result of Pope John Paul