Airport Overview

Located in the town of Palmaseca in the municipality of Palmira, Valle del Cauca, it serves the city of Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, it is the third airport in passenger and cargo mobility in Colombia, after the El Dorado Airport of the city from Bogotá and from the José María Córdova International Airport in the city of Medellín.

It is an H-24 airport of ICAO 4E category in which they operate during key E aeronautical hours such as B777, B787, A-330.

Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport is located in a long valley that runs from north to south and is surrounded by mountains up to 14,000 feet (4,000 m) high. This airport strategically located in the Western Hemisphere for flights from the transcontinental zone of the Pacific coast that connects North America with South America, is approximately 5 hours flight from Santiago de Chile, 50 minutes from Quito, Ecuador, and 3 hours 18 minutes to Miami airport.

Airport Picture

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

The main Colombian entities and authorities operating at the Airport are:

Aeronáutica Civil . Civil Aeronautics works to guarantee the orderly development of civil aviation, the airline industry and the safe use of Colombian airspace, facilitating intermodal transport and contributing to the improvement of the country's competitiveness.

DIAN. The purpose of the Special Administrative Unit for the National Tax and Customs Directorate, DIAN, is to help guarantee the fiscal security of the Colombian State and the protection of the national economic public order.

Dirección Antinarcóticos. It contributes to the goals of the National Government in its policy to combat drug trafficking and other offenses, neutralizing activities related and related to this crime, which affect the national and international community.

Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA). The procedures with the Institution will be carried out in the Administrative Center of Cargo (CAC), pets in crates in office 23 and the phyto and zoosanitary inspections in the cargo holds.

Migración Colombia. Civil security entity; Autonomous and attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose objective is to exercise the functions of surveillance and immigration control and immigration authority of the Colombian State.

Some of the private companies that provide services at the Airport are:

Avianca. It is the commercial brand that represents the Latin American airlines integrated in Avianca Holdings S.A., which has been highlighted for its excellence in service. With airlines specialized in passenger and cargo transport, it directly serves more than 100 destinations in 28 countries in America and Europe aboard a modern fleet of 180 short, medium and long-range aircraft. Additionally, it flies to 1,300 destinations in 192 countries on five continents.

Avianca Cargo, formerly Tampa Cargo, is a Colombian cargo airline with operations in the American continent, which it operates mainly from Bogotá and Miami. Currently Avianca Cargo operates as a subsidiary of Avianca previously called Tampa Cargo and has a codeshare agreement on all routes where it operates for the use of its aircraft holds.

Copa Airlines. Panama's international airline, flies to 74 destinations in 31 countries in North, Central, South America and the Caribbean. In addition, the airline maintains a strategic alliance with the American company United Airlines. Copa Airlines has a strategic business unit in Colombia that will provide logistics solutions in cargo transportation, safely, efficiently and with high quality standards in the processes.

LATAM Cargo has a large presence in Latin America, one of its most desired attributes being the capillarity of its network. This allows the company to offer a great connection to, from and within the region. The portfolio includes highly specialized treatments, such as PHARMA, for the transport of pharmaceutical products; ALIVE, for the transport of live animals; o PROTECT, for vulnerable shipments ".

Passenger and Cargo Performance Indicator

With the entry of new airlines and routes from the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón airport and the increase in passenger and cargo flows, the concessionaire has managed to survive the crisis in the sector. Currently, the airport is the third most important in the country, due to its infrastructure, and has international operations in addition to the operations of cargo airlines.

The remodeling and modernization works of the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón de Palmira Airport, delivered on March 8, 2017, expected the doubling of 5.5 million passengers that this air terminal receives annually according to data registered by the infrastructure administrator concession company and international airport services.

The cargo facilities have a dock for the freighter 747, a consolidated warehouse, a transit zone, a free port and a foreign trade zone; mechanical management, health officials, security for valuables; express and the messaging center "Courier".

Currently the air terminal occupies an area of ​​402 hectares, of which approximately 170 are used. It has a terminal building with two satellites - national and international - each with five boarding bridges. The national platform has an area of ​​43,472 square meters, the international platform an area of ​​45,509 square meters; to which are added 14,516 square meters on the regional platform and 9,574 square meters on the general aviation platform. To the north of the terminal are the decongestion platform with an area of ​​15,040 square meters and the loading platform with 22,520 square meters.

Runway 

The airport has one runway, 9,842 feet (3000 m) long. This track is paved and at a height of 3,162 feet (964 m). The runway can be used for aircraft the size of a Boeing 747, it is equipped with the following navigation aids: primary radar, secondary radar, ILS, ALS, PAPI, VOR, NDB, DME, RVR, center lights, threshold and flood lights as ramp taxi lights.

Currently there is a project for the construction of a second runway of 3000 meters, to make the airport a cargo and passenger cluster between South America, Asia and the Caribbean; With this investment, the Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport would become the second largest airport in Colombia in the future.

Location: the second runway is projected on the eastern side of the current runway, 350 meters to the south of the access to the runway and 1,200 meters to the east, with a length of 3,000 meters and a width of 50 meters

Aeronáutica Civil has already defined the site to carry out the works of this second section, which will be parallel to 1.2 km from the current one. In this way, the airport's operations will be expanded. A preliminary identification of the location of the airport runway is available. However, there are no supporting studies or designs.

Airport Infrastructure Details

The Airport has three aircraft parking platforms: the commercial platform, the cargo platform and a decongestion platform. The three platforms are connected by the taxiway that runs parallel to the runway, 310 meters long by 23 meters wide. The National Pier is 150 meters long. It is made up of a hexagonal plant structure and a 90 meter corridor that connects said structure with the passenger terminal building. It has six positions (7-12).

Airport Operating Details

It is an H-24 airport of ICAO 4E category in which key E aircraft such as B777, B787, A-330 regularly operate.

Customs Guidance

According to Article 90 of Decree 2685 of 1999, all means of transport that reach the national customs territory must arrive at the places authorized by the National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN).

The transporter or the airport agent that has warehouses in the places of arrival for the transitory handling of cargo, must obtain the respective authorization of the place by the DIAN in accordance with the provisions of Decree 390 of 2016.

Once the merchandise arrives, the travel documents are received and registered, the merchandise is presented to the customs authority. The merchandise presented is understood to be that of foreign origin related in the cargo manifest (air waybill) that have the entry authorization issued by Civil Aeronautics. The Information of the Cargo Manifest is presented through the Electronic Computing Services and must correspond at least to the following data:

1. Identification of the means of transport
2. Travel data, such as:
   1. Origin of the goods.
   2. Destination.
   3. Weight and total quantity of cargo units to be transported.
   4. Transport document numbers.
   5. Number of packages, weight.
   6. The indication of consolidated cargo.

The information of the transport documents that is presented through electronic computer services, with respect to the transport documents and consolidators, must contain at least the following data:

1. NIT of the consignee (other than that of the temporary or customs warehouse)
2. Tariff subheading
3. Type of load
4. Number and date of the transport document or the consolidating document
5. Quantity of packages, weight and volume, as appropriate
6. Identification of the load unit, when applicable
7. general description of the merchandise
8. Other characteristics of the transportation contract as required by DIAN.

The carrier must deliver the information of the travel documents, through electronic computer services, with a minimum anticipation of 3 hours before the arrival of the means of transport, by air.

At the time of the arrival of the means of transport to the national customs territory, the carrier or his representative will report such fact, through electronic computer services. Upon receipt of the arrival notice, the DIAN will authorize the unloading of the merchandise. For customs purposes, the date of arrival of the merchandise to the national customs territory will be that of the acknowledgment of receipt of the arrival notice through electronic computer services.

The merchandise unloaded at the airport will remain under the responsibility of the carrier or the international freight agent, as the case may be, until it is delivered to the multimodal transport operator or to the consignee, either the authorized warehouse, the declarant, the customs agency, or the user operator of the free zone in which the user whose name is consigned is located, or to whom the transport document is endorsed.

Finally, in the recognition procedure, the conformity between the cargo and the information recorded in the travel documents and the documents that support the commercial operation will be verified, as well as compliance with the requirements set forth in special regulations, without prejudice to the power to practice the diligence of gauging the merchandise, when the Directorate of National Taxes and Customs determines it.

Once the unloading completion report has been submitted, the goods are delivered to a temporary warehouse or a free zone where the user in whose name it is consigned is located or the transport document is endorsed within the following 2 business days .

At that moment, the import declaration (DUA) is presented in the DIAN's computer system and acceptance is given; Next, customs taxes are settled and paid in bank or by electronic transfer. Subsequently, with the confirmation of payment of the declaration in the system, the release of the merchandise is requested in this same medium. The lift can lead to physical or automatic inspection; if it is the first, the DIAN inspector must verify that the physical merchandise agrees with what is stated in documents to finally issue the release and free disposal of the merchandise. In case of being automatic, the release and free disposition are obtained immediately.

Storage Facilities

Next to the loading platform there are eight warehouses with access from the air side for the treatment of incoming and outgoing cargo. The cargo to be shipped awaits the corresponding flight in pallets located outside the building, stored in the loading platform.

On the land side, the warehouses are adjacent to a paved surface used for parking private vehicles and trucks. In this area, goods are loaded and unloaded from trucks to warehouses. There is also an external access road (via the free zone)

Airfield Costs

Navigation Charges

The Civil Aeronautical Authority of Colombia - Aerocivil, is the entity responsible for determining, collecting and the rates and charges for the provision of aeronautical and airport services, or generated by concessions, authorizations, licenses or any other type of income or capital asset

Navigation fee: includes landing and take-off, use of facilities, service flight protection, visual aids and 3 hours of parking.

Note: aircraft that perform search and rescue or relief in case of public calamity will be exempt from payment of Aerodrome fees.

* Prices are referential, values may vary

 Fuel Service Charges

For the refueling of JET A-1 fuel, the Alfonso Bonilla Aragon airport has a tank with a capacity of 298,274 US gallons and sister vehicles with a capacity of 52,285 US gallons. AVGAS 100/130 fuel is supplied in 10,000gallon tanks and 1,500gallon vehicles. The fuel supply is carried out by private companies such as Terpel and Energizar Aviación and operates 24 hours a day.

* values may vary, prices subject to variation

Cargo Terminal Charges

The single rate for import charges is USD $ 28, additional charges are charged for the weight of the parcel, for exports the rate is charged per kilo. Diplomatic Baggage is regulated by Decree 2148 of 1991 of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit.

Air Bridge Charges

For the use of the boarding bridges of the international piers in the airports managed by AEROCIVIL, they must pay a fee of USD $ 112. The boarding bridges of the national piers at the airports will pay a rate of 6 daily legal minimum wages in force (66SMLDV).

Security 

Airport security is managed by a private company with the support of the national police. The airport that serves Cali lacks a Customs Police to combat smuggling along with other institutions, just as there is an urgent need for reinforcement to prevent other criminal actions that may occur inside. The airport has a very good Anti-Narcotics Police presence, some assistants for internal security. The Cali airport needs its Customs Police to work hand in hand with Dian and the other institutions.