Colombian businessman Gonzalo Mejía saw an opportunity for the development of an airport in Medellin, given that the mountainous topography surrounding the city made land transport to and from the area difficult, and that the nearest airport was in Puerto Berrio. He secured financing from wealthy businessmen, chose the land where the airport sits today and overcame obstacles imposed by the local government. He founded Uraba, Medellin and Central Airways and established it as a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, which at the time had the prospect of becoming the dominant player in global aviation. The airport opened on July 5, 1932, and was named after the then president of Colombia, Enrique Olaya Herrera, who had supported Mejía and his idea of an airport in Medellin. In the 1940s the city was growing rapidly and new aircraft of the time required better facilities. Therefore, Mejía signed a contract in 1945 for the expansion of the runway and the existing facilities, a work that was completed on May 1, 1947. In the 1970s, the airport was again over capacity and unable to meet demand, so the construction of new and larger José María Córdova International Airport in the nearby locality of Rionegro was announced. This resulted in the closure of Olaya Herrera Airport in 1986, a year after the new airport opened, and the reallocation of its land to a park. However, many people asked for the airport to remain open, and in 1991, it reopened with only domestic flights after a ruling by Aerocivil. In the same year it closed, the airport saw some improvements as a result of Pope John Paul II's visit to the city in July. The visit also inspired the name for the park which remains on the western portion of the airport grounds: the Aeroparque Juan Pablo II. It was also one of the mainstays of carrier ACES from its beginnings to its demise in August 2003. Today it is an airport with heavy use and constant growth (second in number of operations in Colombia) and was declared a national monument on October 19, 1995, for its historical, cultural, and architectural value for the city of Medellin and Colombia. In 2008, the national government gave the airport and five others in Colombia under concession to operating company Airplan, which is conducting a series of renovations to the terminal (at the time of writing they are ongoing). With an investment of more than US$27 million, Airplan began the transformation under the parameters defined in its concession contract with the Aeronáutuica Public Establecimeinto Olaya Herrera. The modernization plan began in March 2009 and ends in 2014. Among the main objectives are to ensure aviation safety, passenger comfort, and meeting the requirements of ICAO, Aerocivil, and IATA. Olaya Herrera Airport operational spaces have Category B, according to IATA.