Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Simón Bolívar International Airport (SKSM) serves the Caribbean coastal city of Santa Marta in Colombia's Magdalena Department, sitting on the shoreline a short distance south of the city centre. It is a modest single-runway field named after the South American liberator who died in Santa Marta in 1830, and offers visiting VFR pilots a straightforward coastal approach with the sea close to the runway threshold.
Simón Bolívar International Airport is the gateway to Santa Marta on Colombia's Caribbean coast, operated by Aeropuertos De Oriente S.A.S. under concession from Aerocivil. Despite its international designation it has the shortest runway of any international airport in Colombia, and its coastal position, single-runway layout and mix of domestic airline traffic make it an interesting and manageable destination for a visiting simulator pilot.
The airport lies on the shore of the Caribbean Sea, about 14 kilometres south of Santa Marta city centre and roughly 18 kilometres north of the municipality of Ciénaga. Its low-lying coastal setting places the runway close to the water on one side, which is a useful visual cue when inbound from over the sea.
The airfield has a single physical runway, 01/19, 5,573 feet long with a hard surface and runway lighting. There is no ILS.
Barranquilla APP provides approach service on 119.1 MHz, with the tower working on 118.7 MHz. The Santa Marta VOR/DME, identifier STA, is located about 9.7 nautical miles south of the airport and can be used for en-route and arrival guidance.
The runway runs parallel to the Caribbean coastline, and the sea itself forms the most obvious visual reference for pilots inbound to the field, with the built-up area of Santa Marta visible to the north along the shore.
The airport traces its origins to 8 December 1949, when construction was inaugurated by the airline Líneas Aéreas Nacionales to meet the pressing aviation needs of the Magdalena Department. In its early days the site had unusual versatility, being used for both land and seaplane operations: the original dirt strip ran parallel to the sea and was built in two stages, first to 1,200 metres and then extended to 1,000 metres further, while the surrounding waters were deep enough for seaplanes to taxi to within about 50 metres of the terminal building. The terminal and a control tower equipped for meteorological observation were built by the LANZA company under the direction of chief engineer Enrique Pérez Ayala. The field was formally recognised as an international airport in 2007. Between May 2018 and early 2019, Viva Air Colombia established its third operational base at Santa Marta, briefly making it a hub with domestic connections to cities such as Bucaramanga, Pereira and San Andrés, and for a short period in late 2018 an international route to Miami. A major renovation and expansion programme ran from February 2015 over roughly three years, with an investment of more than 109,500 million Colombian pesos, to modernise facilities that had become inadequate for the sharp rise in tourism to Santa Marta.
The airport today handles domestic passenger services from Avianca, JetSmart Colombia, LATAM Colombia and Wingo, with Copa Airlines operating the only international flights. Renovated passenger facilities include a medical care area, check-in hall, airline offices and a food square added during the recent expansion works.