In the 1970s, the need for a larger airport for the Antioquia province arose due to the limitations of the Olaya Herrera Airport caused by insufficient space to expand. Two sites were proposed for the new airport: one in the vicinity of the municipality of Barbosa northeast of the city, and another in the valley of San Nicolas in Rionegro, east of the city. The latter was selected and construction began. The airport opened on August 29, 1985. During the same year, Avianca conducted test flights of its Boeing 747, first on the original runway at Olaya Herrera Airport, and then at the new José María Córdova. During this time the airport had significant movement of cargo and passengers, as the Olaya Herrera airport was closed from 1986 until 1991. Today, the Olaya Herrera Airport still has significant passenger movements, because it is a main hub for domestic flights within Colombia and the preferred option for domestic flights out of Medellín. In January 2006, an Airbus A380 landed at the airport to conduct technical tests of the engines. This was the first time a plane of that type had landed on Colombian soil, and also the first time it happened in South America. In 2016, the airport handled 7,376,160 passengers, and 6,892,104 in 2017. In August 2019, a new highway opened, which cut the traveling time from the airport to Medellín from almost an hour to just 20 minutes. The route includes a tunnel called "Túnel de Oriente". The total cost of the project was 1.1 trillion pesos.