Palonegro International Airport
Palonegro International Airport () is an airport located west of Bucaramanga in the Santander Department of Colombia. The airport provides the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Area and surrounding towns with access to international and domestic flights. The airport was built over the mountains surrounding the Bucaramanga plateau. A mountain road connects the city with the airport, which is located at about 1,200 m above sea level. The airport was built on the site of the Battle of Palonegro, which took place during the Thousand Days War in the early 20th century. The airport receives flights from major cities in Colombia  as well as international flights from Panama City and the United States. The main terminal is 25 minutes from the city in the fast lane of the highway west to Giron. It is currently the eighth largest airport in Colombia in terms of passenger movement. History. Bucaramanga was formerly served by Gómez Niño Airport, which was built by SCADTA in late 1938, when operations began with Junkers F-13 aircraft. The airport was purchased by Colombian Aerodrome Administration in 1954 and was one of the few airports in Colombia that operated two runways simultaneously. Their X-configuration allowed their use depending  on the prevailing winds. Avianca and Taxader had its headquarters at the airport. Gómez Niño was located within the urban area of the city. It had poor conditions for security and air navigation, and was the site of several fatal air accidents. The new Palonegro airport was therefore constructed. The Battle of Palonegro, during the Thousand Days War, had been fought on the site selected. Construction began in 1967, and included major levelling work as the site consisted of a number of hills and canyons up to 60 metres deep. The new airport was opened by the President Misael Pastrana  in August 1974, and the inaugural flight took place on a Boeing 727 Avianca, commanded by Captain Alvaro Barrera Gómez. The total cost of construction was $230 million pesos. Renovation. The airport was renovated from 2014 to 2018. The newly renovated airport was inaugurated by president Juan Manuel Santos in February 2018. The cost of the renovation was approximately $7 million. The renovation also increased the capacity from 1.8 to 2.5 million people per year, and consisted of the expansion of the departures hall, check-in areas, baggage claim areas, airline offices, and new jet bridges. The terminal  was doubled in square footage, going from 80,000 to nearly 200,000 square feet. Operations. 70-80 daily flights are now carried out by scheduled airlines, serving five domestic destinations: ADA, Avianca, Copa Airlines Colombia, EasyFly, Aires and Satena. The airport has international flights to Fort Lauderdale International Airport through Spirit Airlines and Tocumen International Airport through Copa Airlines. Palonegro currently ranks eighth in passenger traffic in the country. The National Ministry of Transport and Group Palonegro Northeast all control the airport. The airport group comprises the airports in Cúcuta, Barrancabermeja, Valledupar, Santa Marta and Riohacha. Airlines and destinations. The following  airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at the airport: