Medellín Airport Flights: Airlines & Routes

Medellín airport flights: the basics

When people talk about Medellín airport flights, they almost always mean José María Córdova Airport (code MDE), in Rionegro, about 35 km from the city. Every international flight and most domestic flights use it.

Medellín also has a second airport, Olaya Herrera (code EOH), inside the city. It only handles regional flights on small aircraft, for example to the Chocó Pacific coast or the Urabá region. Before you pay for a ticket, check the code: if it says MDE, you need to get out to Rionegro.

In 2025 José María Córdova handled more than 14 million passengers, around 10.3 million domestic and over 4.2 million international. As of late 2026 it has direct flights to 12 Colombian cities and roughly 30 destinations abroad, according to the route list on Wikipedia.

Routes change often: new airlines arrive, some routes are seasonal and others are dropped. Treat the lists below as a snapshot of 2026 and always confirm on the airline's website before you plan.

Domestic flights from Medellín

From José María Córdova there are direct flights to 12 Colombian cities, with four airlines: Avianca, LATAM, JetSMART and Wingo.

• Bogotá: Avianca, LATAM, JetSMART and Wingo. The busiest route by far.
• Caribbean coast: Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla with Avianca, JetSMART and Wingo; LATAM also flies to Barranquilla.
• San Andrés: Avianca, LATAM and JetSMART.
• Cali and the Coffee Region: Cali and Pereira with Avianca, LATAM and JetSMART; Armenia with Avianca.
• Other cities: Bucaramanga (Avianca and Wingo), Cúcuta (Avianca and JetSMART), Montería (Avianca, LATAM and JetSMART) and Pasto (Avianca).

Low-cost carriers such as JetSMART and Wingo usually charge separately for checked bags and sometimes for cabin bags. Compare fares with the luggage you will actually bring.

For domestic flights, the airport operator recommends arriving two hours before departure. Add the ride from Medellín, about 35 to 40 minutes by bus from the city centre.

Airport bus with COMBUSES

Wherever you are flying, the COMBUSES airport bus gets you to José María Córdova every 15 minutes from central Medellín, 24 hours a day. Buy the digital ticket and use it any day within 30 days.

Book your ticket →

International flights: US, Canada, Mexico and Europe

Medellín has good direct links with North America and Spain. These are the routes as of 2026:

• Miami: American Airlines and Avianca.
• Fort Lauderdale: Avianca and JetBlue.
• New York (JFK): Avianca.
• Houston: United Airlines.
• Orlando: Avianca, seasonally. Frontier Airlines has announced flights from 10 December 2026.
• San Juan, Puerto Rico: Avianca and JetBlue.
• Canada: Toronto year-round and Montréal seasonally, with Air Transat.
• Mexico City: Aeroméxico and Avianca to Benito Juárez airport; Viva to Felipe Ángeles airport.
• Cancún: Wingo. Guadalajara: Volaris has announced the route from 2 December 2026.
• Madrid: Avianca and Air Europa, the only direct destination in Europe.

For international flights the operator recommends arriving three hours early, because you must clear Migración Colombia exit control, which can have long queues in high season.

Flights to Central America, the Caribbean and South America

Beyond North America and Europe, Medellín has direct flights to much of the region:

• Panama: Copa Airlines to Tocumen, Wingo to Panamá Pacífico–Balboa, and Air Panama charter flights.
• Central America: San José, Costa Rica (Avianca and Wingo), San Salvador (Avianca) and Guatemala City (Wingo).
• Caribbean: Punta Cana (Avianca, Arajet, JetSMART and Wingo), Santo Domingo (Arajet and Wingo), Aruba (Wingo), Curaçao (Wingo and Z Air) and Montego Bay, Jamaica (Wingo).
• Venezuela: Caracas (Avior and Wingo), Valencia (Turpial), Barcelona (Avior) and Porlamar seasonally (Wingo).
• Ecuador and Peru: Quito and Guayaquil with Avianca; Lima with LATAM and JetSMART.
• Chile: Santiago with JetSMART.
• Argentina: Buenos Aires. JetSMART has announced the route from 12 November 2026, and Avianca flies it until 1 December 2026.

If there is no direct flight to where you are going, Bogotá and Panama City are the usual connecting points.

Olaya Herrera Airport: regional flights

Olaya Herrera Airport (EOH) is inside Medellín, in the Belén district. It is a regional airport: most commercial flights use aircraft with up to 50 seats, which is why large jets and all international flights moved to José María Córdova when it opened in 1985.

Airlines flying from Olaya Herrera include:

• Clic: Bogotá, Cali, Quibdó, Pereira, Montería and other cities.
• SATENA: around 15 destinations, such as Quibdó, Bucaramanga and San Gil.
• Pacífica de Aviación: Nuquí, Bahía Solano, Capurganá and Caucasia.
• SEARCA: Capurganá and some routes in Chocó.

It is the natural choice for the Pacific coast of Chocó or for Capurganá near the Panama border. If your ticket is from EOH, you do not need to go to Rionegro at all.

The most common mistake is mixing up the two airports. Check the code on your booking and boarding pass before you leave your hotel.

Tips for booking and flying from Medellín

• Confirm the airport: MDE is Rionegro, EOH is Olaya Herrera. Plan your transfer accordingly.
• Check the route with the airline: new routes often start seasonally and some are suspended. What a search engine shows may be a connecting flight.
• Avoid the busiest dates if you can: Easter week, the mid-year school holidays, the Feria de las Flores in August and December are all very busy.
• Work out the total time: two hours before domestic flights and three before international ones, plus about 35 to 40 minutes by bus from the centre. For dawn departures, see our early-flight guide.
• Allow for night closures: both the Túnel de Oriente and the airport runway have had scheduled overnight maintenance closures. Check news from your airline and the tunnel in the week you travel.

If you buy your bus ticket in advance, all you need to do on the day is get to the stop: the digital ticket is valid for 30 days with no fixed departure time.

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Frequently asked questions

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Photo: SajoR (dominio público, Wikimedia Commons)