Simón Bolívar International Airport
Simón Bolívar International Airport
Simón Bolívar International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Simón Bolívar) (IATA: SMR, ICAO: SKSM) is an international airport serving the city of Santa Marta, Colombia. The airport is located 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) south of Santa Marta city center, on the shores of the Caribbean Sea. 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of the municipality of Ciénaga in Colombia. It is operated by Aeropuertos De Oriente S.A.S., through a concession agreement with Aerocivil. It is the international airport of Colombia with the shortest runway, 1700 meters long. It is named in honor of Simón Bolívar, the military and political leader who played a leading role in the establishment of several South American countries as sovereign states, and who died in Santa Marta in 1830. The airport name is also currently the name of the airport in Maiquetía (Caracas), Venezuela.
Location
11.120°N, 74.231°O · 7 m s. n. m. (22 ft)
General data
Runways · 1
Lengths and surfaces from the public OurAirports register; open runways only.
Radio frequencies · 4 Official publication
Tower
ATIS (automatic information)
Approach
Frequencies from the official publication: AIP Colombia (Aerocivil), AMDT 73/26 · 01 OCT 2026, checked on Oct 16, 2026. They change with each amendment: not for navigation without checking the current AIP. See the official publication In MHz.
History
Construction
The construction of the Santa Marta airport was inaugurated on 8 December 1949, by the company Líneas Aéreas Nacionales, for the Magdalena Department, a modern airport that will satisfy pressing and urgent regional needs. Back in those days, the airport had exceptional location conditions since it was used to operate by water and land. The dirt track was located parallel to the sea and is built in two stages: the first 1,200 meters long and the second with an extension to 1,000. For the operation of seaplanes, there is sufficient depth.
These ships can reach about 50 meters from the airport building. The preliminary plans for the terminal building were under study and approval by the Aerocivil and once approved the LANZA Company began its construction to complete it in the shortest possible time. it was also equipped with a modern control tower with all the devices for meteorological observations. At present, the ground movement works at Simón Bolívar Airport was progressing satisfactorily, under the direction of LANZA's engineering chief, Enrique Pérez Ayala. Santa Marta has, in its airport, a key to its development and progress.
The airport was recognized as an international airport in 2007.
Viva Air Colombia Hub (2018-2019)
In May 2018, Viva Air Colombia announced the opening of its third operational base in Santa Marta airport, which began in October 2018 and became the first airline to operate as a hub in the airport. The new hub provided connections to destinations such as Bucaramanga, Pereira and San Andrés, ended at the beginning of 2019. In August 2018, Viva Air Colombia announced an international route to Miami from Santa Marta airport, which started on 18 December 2018. The route ended in April 2019.
Airlines operating here · 5
Other airlines with direct routes
Airlines with current passenger routes from here, according to Wikipedia route tables cross-checked from both ends (October 2026).
Photo: Felipe Restrepo Acosta · CC BY-SA 4.0 · view original
Data from OurAirports (public domain) · destinations and airlines from Wikipedia route tables (CC BY-SA, 2026), unless another source is given · profile and photo from Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons (CC0 / CC) · summary and history from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
Cite
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This page was last updated on October 15, 2026
APA
Vuelopedia. (2026, October 15). Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR). Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR
MLA
“Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR).” Vuelopedia, Fundación Poderia, 15 Oct. 2026, vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.
Chicago
Vuelopedia. “Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR).” Fundación Poderia. Last modified October 15, 2026. https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR.
Harvard
Vuelopedia (2026) Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR). Available at: https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR (Accessed: 24 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{vuelopedia_en_airport_smr,
author = {{Vuelopedia}},
title = {{Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR)}},
publisher = {Fundación Poderia},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-15},
url = {https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR},
howpublished = {\url{https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR}},
urldate = {2026-10-24},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-24}
}Wikipedia
{{cite web |url=https://vuelopedia.org/en/airport/SMR |title=Simón Bolívar International Airport (SMR) |website=Vuelopedia |publisher=Fundación Poderia |date=2026-10-15 |access-date=2026-10-24 |language=en}}