Cartagena Airport (CTG)

Hours and operator of Cartagena Airport

Cartagena Airport operates every day, 24 hours. The administrative office, which is not the same thing as the terminal, keeps shorter hours, from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.

The airport is run by Operadora Internacional Aeropuerto Cartagena SAS (OINAC), a company whose objective is to finance, build, operate, maintain and hand back the Rafael Núñez International Airport.

Getting to and from Cartagena Airport

The airport is inside the city, in the Crespo neighbourhood, about 10 minutes from the historic centre and the Cartagena de Indias Convention Center, and about 15 minutes from the hotel zone of the city.

The taxi service operates 24 hours a day, and the city buses run from 6:50 am to 11:45 pm.

What happens when you arrive at CTG

The airport asks you to arrive at least two hours before a domestic flight and at least three hours before an international one. Those times are a minimum, so with children it is worth arriving a little earlier.

If your flight goes to another country, the airport asks you to check the special requirements of the destination country before you schedule the flight, and to use Check-Mig, the pre-registration on the site of Migración Colombia, the immigration authority, to speed up your immigration process. If you arrive from abroad, it asks you to complete Check-Mig before you reach the immigration control posts. Migración Colombia says the form can be filled in from 72 hours up to 1 hour before the trip.

There is a basic care point on the first floor of the passenger terminal, in the public area, where low-complexity emergencies and patient transfers are attended to. If you need a wheelchair, the airport asks you to request the assistance from your airline in advance and, once at the airport, to go straight to the airline's staff, because the airline provides that service and any special assistance you need.

Cartagena Airport with children

If your child is a Colombian citizen, the airport lists the ID to carry: from 0 to 7 years old, the Civil Birth Registry, a copy of the original issued by a notary and never a photo or photocopy (if it is lost, the passport works on domestic flights); from 7 to 17, the current identity card. For an international flight, the airport's list of requirements adds the passport with any visas, and the documents a country may ask for, such as an authorisation for a minor to leave the country.

Plan your stop at Cartagena Airport

Check with the airline and with the airport's own site before you travel: the terminal arrangements, the airlines and the arrival procedures change. Ask the embassy or consulate of each country on your route which documents your family needs to enter it.

Sources

• Official page of the Aeropuerto Internacional Rafael Núñez on how to get to the airport: it is located inside the urban area of the city in the Crespo neighbourhood, just 10 minutes from the historic centre and the Cartagena de Indias Convention Center and 15 minutes from the hotel zone of the city, the airport operates every day, 24 hours, and the administrative office hours of operation are 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. — aeropuertocartagena.com.co (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official frequently asked questions page of the same airport: a Colombian citizen aged 0 to 7 must present the Civil Birth Registry (copy of the original issued by a notary), or the passport on domestic flights if the Civil Birth Registry is lost, and photographs or photocopies are not accepted, while one aged 7 to 17 must present the current identity card; for international travel you must present the boarding pass, an identity document and a passport with the relevant visas, as well as the documents that different countries require, such as an authorisation for the departure of minors; the documentation requirements for each country are available at the corresponding embassy or consulate; the taxi service operates 24 hours a day and the city buses run from 6:50 a.m. to 23:45 p.m.; there is a basic care point where low-complexity emergencies and patient transfers are attended to, on the first floor of the passenger terminal, in the public area; the wheelchair assistance must be requested from the airline in advance and, once at the airport, you contact the airline staff directly, as they provide that service and any other special service and assistance you require; and for a domestic flight you should arrive at least two hours before the flight and for an international trip at least three hours in advance. — aeropuertocartagena.com.co (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official travel check list page of the same airport: on international departures, use Check-Mig to speed up the immigration process, and if the flight's destination is another country, check the special requirements of the destination country before scheduling the flight; on international arrivals, complete the Check-Mig pre-registration, found on the website of Migración Colombia, before entering the immigration control posts. — aeropuertocartagena.com.co (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official CheckMig page of Migración Colombia: CheckMig lets national and foreign travellers who intend to enter or leave Colombia preload all the information about their trip, it makes the immigration control interview faster, and the immigration registration form can be filled in from 72 hours before the trip up to one hour before. — apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co (checked 21 October 2026)
• Official page of the same airport on the operator: Operadora Internacional Aeropuerto Cartagena SAS, OINAC, is a company with the objective of financing, building, operating, maintaining, exploiting and reversing the Rafael Núñez International Airport in the city of Cartagena de Indias, and its integrated management policy covers the financing, operation, maintenance, exploitation and reversion of both the airside and the landside of the airport. — aeropuertocartagena.com.co (checked 21 October 2026)