José María Córdova International Airport
Colombian airport in Rionegro - Antioquia in the departamento of Antioquia
José María Córdova International Airport (IATA: MDE, ICAO: SKRG) is an international airport located in the city of Rionegro, 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-east of Medellín, and is the second largest airport in Colombia after El Dorado International Airport of Bogotá in terms of infrastructure and passenger service. The airport is named after José María Córdova (sometimes spelled "Córdoba"), a Colombian army general who was a native of Ríonegro. The airport is managed by Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste.
It serves the Medellín Metropolitan Area and is the most important airport in the Antioquia Department. It was also the main hub for low-cost airline Viva Air Colombia until the airline ceased operating in February 2023. It serves several international destinations, one of the busiest being the route to Miami International Airport. It also serves the most flown route within Colombia: Medellín–Bogotá, which is mainly operated by Avianca and LATAM Colombia.
Description
The airport serves all major international and some minor domestic routes for the Medellín metro area, in contrast to the in-town yet much smaller Olaya Herrera Airport, which serves the Medellín area with domestic flights only. The airport is about a 30 minute drive from Medellín proper.
The runway is also used by the nearby military base of the Colombian Air Force located in Rionegro, named Air Combat Command No.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “José María Córdova International Airport” is colombian airport in Rionegro - Antioquia in the departamento of Antioquia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through José, María and Córdova, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “colombian airport in Rionegro - Antioquia in the departamento of Antioquia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q535161. Authority coordinates are 6.167, -75.427. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “José María Córdova International Airport”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow José María Córdova International Airport primary sources, José María Córdova International Airport archive and José research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “José María Córdova International Airport”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “José María Córdova International Airport” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.