Airport Overview

Palonegro International Airport is located on a mountain ridge 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) west of Bucaramanga in the Santander department of Colombia. It is the largest and most important airport is located in the municipality of Lebrija located 30 minutes from Bucaramanga by land and is called "Palonegro". It serves the Metropolitan Area of ​​Bucaramanga and is international, category B, that is, it moves between 50,000 and 300,000 passengers. One of the best in the country, with great activity in terms of cargo and passengers. Companies such as Avianca, Copa Airlines, LatAm, VivaColombia, ADA, Easyfly, Aerotaca and Taxi Aéreo de Santander (TAS) provide their services. It has direct connections to Bogotá, Medellín, Cartagena, Santa Marta and Barranquilla, Cúcuta, Arauca, Málaga, Sabana de Torres, Yopal, as well as international connections with cities such as Panama.

The airport was built on the mountains that surround the Bucaramanga plateau. A mountain road connects the city with the airport, which is about 1,200 m above sea level (The city of Bucaramanga is 950 m above sea level). Palonegro has undergone a remodeling / expansion process, delivered in February 2018. The terminal grew by 3,377 m² and 3 levels were enabled, where areas will be located for national and international boarding rooms, a baggage reception area and an area for a new Avianca VIP lounge, soon to be adapted by this airline. In the new space, government offices will also be reorganized, 5 additional double counters will be installed for the airlines and a new last generation boarding bridge will be installed. With these works, it was necessary to rearrange the vehicular access, improve the functioning of the different operating and passenger processing subsystems to maintain the required service levels with the expected growth. These works also improve the development of the airport's operational safety, generate high rates of connectivity, efficiency, comfort and competitiveness for travelers and the region. The expansion work had a value of USD 6,596,593.- US dollars, in addition to the USD 12 million, US dollars, executed in the first phase (2016), corresponding to the Modernization works.

Source: National Infrastructure Agency (ANI)

Airport Picture

Description and Contacts of Key Companies

The main Colombian entities and authorities that operate at Palonegro Airport are:

• Civil Aviation. 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 Directorate of Taxes and National Customs, DIAN, is to help guarantee the fiscal security of the Colombian State and the protection of the national economic public order.
• 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.
• Migration 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.
• Airports of Oriente S.A.S. is a company with the sole objective of managing, operating, commercially exploiting, maintaining and modernizing the concessioned areas of the airports in the northeast network.

Some of the private companies that provide services at Palonegro International 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.
• Copa Airlines. Panama 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 US 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.
• SATENA offers the community interested in cargo transportation, airport-airport transportation services on its operating routes.

Passenger and Cargo Performance Indicator

Runway

Runway meets key category 4C length and width.

Airport Infrastructure Details

Airport Operating Details 

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 airport agent that has warehouses in the places of arrival for the transitory handling of the 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 listed in the cargo manifest (air waybill) that has the entry authorization issued by the 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 place.
   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 the electronic computer services, regarding 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 registered is located, or to whom the transport document is endorsed.

Finally, in the recognition procedure, the conformity between the cargo and the information consigned in the travel documents and the documents that support the commercial operation will be verified, as well as compliance with the requirements established 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 is presented, the goods are delivered to a temporary warehouse or to 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 time, the import declaration (DUA) is presented in the DIAN 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 the 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.

Airfield Costs

Navigation Charges

* Prices are referential, values may vary

Fuel Service Charges

The fuel supply at Palogrande airport is carried out with tankers, 1 of 3000 gls, 1 of 2200 gls for JET A-1 and 1 of 1200 gallons for AVGAS 100/130. 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 in import charges is USD $ 28, additional charges are charged for the weight of the parcel, in exports the rate is charged per kilo. The Diplomatic Team is regulated by Decree 2148 of 1991 of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit

Air-Bridge Details

For the use of the boarding bridges of the international piers in the airports administered 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 has been under discussion several times, in 1998 from this airport the hijacking of an Avianca Fokker F-50 aircraft by armed personnel and then another Aerotaca B1900 aircraft in 2000. In order to improve security at the Palonegro Aerocivil airport, it carried out works to adjust and level the security strips, retaining walls and the new fire station, with resources amounting to USD $ 4'300,000.- approx. Additionally, with an investment of USD $ 6'700,000.- approx., The improvement of the security zones and the runway at head 17 and its connection through the extension of the Charlie taxiway was advanced. The control tower has a height of 34 meters (112 feet) equivalent to 10 floors, where the length of the runway in its entirety and platforms for the parking of passenger and cargo planes can be widely seen. In addition, additional works were planned, including runway drainage systems, the acquisition and operation of beacon systems, control lights, rotating beacon, for visual and non-visual network navigation; of water supply, electricity, and dedicated communications equipment. In the terminal are the offices of Civil Aviation and meteorology, telecommunications, airport security, the National Police aviation station, Customs, among others.