Medellin Airport (MDE)
Medellin Airport (MDE) is the José María Córdova International Airport, in the vereda Sajonia of Rionegro, Antioquia. The airlines have their offices on the first floor and their sales points in the main hall on the second floor. Buses, colectivos and white taxis link Medellin with the terminal 24 hours a day, and the airport never closes.
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Updated October 2026
The terminal at Medellin Airport
The airport has a single passenger terminal, in the vereda Sajonia of Rionegro, in the Antioquia department, and it works 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The terminal is on the hill above Rionegro, so it is the city of Rionegro, not Medellín, that the airport serves.
Inside the terminal the airlines have their offices and their customer service counters on the first floor, and their ticket sales points in the main hall on the second floor, which is also the level of the departures.
Getting to and from Medellin Airport
From Medellín, buses, colectivos and taxis wait at the glorieta of the Sandiego sector, which joins the road to Las Palmas, and they go to the terminal 24 hours a day. The routes on offer are Sandiego-Palmas through the Túnel de Oriente, Alto de Palmas through the Mall Indiana, and the Autopista Medellín-Bogotá from the centre, near the Hotel Nutibara.
The other way is to go to the Terminal del Norte or the Terminal del Sur in Medellín and look for the Rionegro ticket counters there, and ask for the direct route to the airport. From the airport, the white taxis, the ones with the blue stripe, are authorized to take you to Medellín 24 hours a day, and their drivers carry an airport badge.
The public buses leave from the first floor, at door 2, and from the departures area on the second floor a bus route goes down through the corregimiento of Santa Elena, along the street Buenos Aires in Comuna 9, to the Terminal del Sur.
What happens when you arrive at Medellin Airport
The airport's own flights page shows the information of every itinerary programmed to and from the airport, so you can look for your flight before you travel and see its status on the day.
To go to Rionegro, the taxis wait in the arrivals area, at door 3, and the collectives and the buses run from about 5:00 a.m. to about 10:00 p.m. In the other direction, in Rionegro you can take a taxi, a buseta or a colectivo near the park of Rionegro, in front of the CEDES school, from about 4:30 a.m. to about 9:30 p.m.
Medellin Airport with children
The public buses and the collective taxis are the easy option with a family: they run all night, so you are never left waiting for a long time, and the drivers of the white taxis carry an airport badge, so you can see who is picking you up.
Keep the passports and the children's documents in your carry-on bag, not in the checked luggage. The airport itself works 24 hours, but the counters of the airlines and the immigration line keep their own hours, so arrive early.
Plan your stop at Medellin Airport
Check with the airline and with the airport's own site before you travel: the airlines, the routes and the arrival procedures change, and the airport is being transformed. And check with the consulate about the documents your family needs for the entry rules of every country on your route.
Sources
- Official airlines page of the José María Córdova International Airport: the carriers that operate there, from Aeroméxico, American Airlines, Avianca, Copa, JetBlue, JetSMART, LATAM and United to Arajet, Air Europa, Avior, Wingo and Z Air, with the office of each one and the floor where it is. — aeropuertorionegro.co (checked 21 October 2026)
- Official page of the same airport on how to get there: the buses, colectivos and taxis that go from Medellín to the terminal 24 hours a day, the three routes on offer, the Rionegro ticket counters at the Terminal del Norte and the Terminal del Sur, the white taxis with the blue stripe, the public buses that leave from the first floor, door 2, and the services to Rionegro in both directions. — aeropuertorionegro.co (checked 21 October 2026)
- Official flights page of the same airport, with the information of the itineraries programmed to and from the airport. — aeropuertorionegro.co (checked 21 October 2026)
- Official home page of the same airport: its address in the vereda Sajonia of Rionegro, Antioquia, the running hours of the airport, 24 hours a day every day, and the news of the transformation the airport is carrying out. — aeropuertorionegro.co (checked 21 October 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Where is Medellin Airport (MDE) really?
In the vereda Sajonia, in the municipality of Rionegro, Antioquia, in Colombia. The airport has one passenger terminal and works 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Which airlines fly from Medellin Airport (MDE)?
Aeroméxico, Air Europa, American Airlines, Arajet, Avianca, Avior Airlines, Copa Airlines, JetBlue, JetSMART, LATAM, United Airlines, Wingo and Z Air. Their offices are on the first floor and their sales points in the main hall on the second floor.
How do I get from Medellin to the airport?
Buses, colectivos and taxis wait at the glorieta of the Sandiego sector, which joins the road to Las Palmas, and go to the terminal 24 hours a day. You can also go to the Terminal del Norte or the Terminal del Sur in Medellín and look for the Rionegro ticket counters.
How do I get from the airport to Rionegro?
The taxis wait in the arrivals area, at door 3, and the collectives and the buses run from about 5:00 a.m. to about 10:00 p.m. In Rionegro you can take a taxi, a buseta or a colectivo near the park, in front of the CEDES school.
Do the airlines open all night at Medellin Airport?
The airport works 24 hours a day, but each airline gives its own hours for its office and its sales point, so check the airline's page before you travel.