At the end of 1919 two entrepreneurs, one from Cartagena, Don Nemesio dee la Espriella and another one from Medellín, Don Guillermo Echavarría established negotiations to import a French aircraft produced by aviation manufacturing firm FARMAN, but there was only one problem, that the aircraft arrived to Cartagena unassembled and in boxes.

They proceeded right away to build a palm tree hangar in the area of Bocagrande, which in those days, it was a simple peninsula covered by mangroves, icons and a few homes. The hangar had a 30 meters wide opening which could be used by hydroplanes towards the bay and by aircrafts with wheels in land.. This was the starting point for the creation, in 1920, of the “COMPAÑÍA COLOMBIA DE NAVEGACION AEREA”.

On February 22nd, 1920 a mail flight towards Barranquilla took place and it caused so much surprise that one week later, they were placing in that city the first stones for the construction of an airport, “NACIONAL COLOMBIANA”; they also took the first steps to import a new aircraft, Goliat, which they baptized "Barranquilla".

HISTORIC SUMMARY OF THE AIRPORTS AT CARTAGENA DE INDIAS

The first airport was opened in 1920 in an area in Bocagrande which belonged to the COMPAÑÍA COLOMBIANA DE NAVEGACIÓN AEREA. On January 26th, 1928, the pioneer of transatlantic flights, CHARLES A. LINDBERG, landed in this improvised airport commanding his vessel named Spirit of Saint Louis.

In 1930, the new airport was inaugurated in the island of Manzanillo, by the company “SCADTA” - SOCIEDAD COLOMBO – ALEMANA DE TRANSPORTE AEREO. Later in the year 1939 “SCADTA”, changed its social name to “AVIANCA” AEROVIAS NACIONALES DE COLOMBIA.

In 1947 the airline “LANSA” is created, and opens its offices in Crespo. They built two runways, a main one 1600 meters long and another one for crossed winds 930 meters long. At that moment then Cartagena has two airports, till in the decade of the fifties “LANSA” sells its facilities to “AVIANCA”, which closes its operations in Manzanillo and moves to Crespo.

A few years later AVIANCA sells its airport facilities to the EMPRESA COLOMBIANA DE AERODROMOS “ECA”, and the official entity DEPARTAMENTO ADMINISTRATIVO AERONAUTICA CIVIL “DAAC” takes over the administration of the airport. In the year 1986 the Crespo Airport takes the name of “RAFAEL NUÑEZ”, to commemorate one century of the Colombian Constitution, written and signed by this illustrious Cartagenero who occupied the presidency of Colombia three times, and who at the same time was the composer of the words of the national anthem.

In 1996 the government privatized the airport administratively and through a public bid it became SOCIEDAD AEROPORTUARIA DE LA COSTA S.A. “SACSA”, conformed by this Spanish-Colombian company which manages it at this moment.