Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport — Barranquilla, Colombia

Ernesto Cortissoz International Airport serves Barranquilla, the capital of Colombia's Atlantico Department on the Caribbean coast. The airport is named for a local aviation pioneer, fitting for a city widely remembered as the birthplace of SCADTA, one of the world's earliest commercial airlines, founded in Barranquilla in 1919 and later absorbed into what became Avianca. BAQ sits just 98 feet above sea level and, despite its large-airport classification, still relies on a single runway to move passenger and cargo traffic for Colombia's Caribbean coastal region. Nearby coastal airports include Simón Bolívar International serving Santa Marta at about 65 kilometers away, Rafael Nuñez International serving Cartagena roughly 94 kilometers out, and Alfonso López Pumarejo Airport in Valledupar at about 175 kilometers. Together these airports form the backbone of air travel across Colombia's Caribbean coast, connecting a string of cities that also rank among the country's most visited tourist destinations. BAQ continues to serve as the primary gateway to Barranquilla for both business travelers and Colombians visiting family in the region.