Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis" is the primary airport on the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, and the country's second busiest airport after

Athens International Airport Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios Venizelos'' ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών «Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος», ''Diethnís Aeroliménas Athinón "Elefthérios Venizélos"''), commonly initialised as ...

. It is located about 5 km east of the main city centre of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...

, near the municipality of

Nea Alikarnassos Nea Alikarnassos ( el, Νέα Αλικαρνασσός, meaning New Halicarnassus) is a town and a former municipality in the Heraklion regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Heraklion, ...

. It is a shared civil/military facility. The airport is named after Heraklion native

Nikos Kazantzakis Nikos Kazantzakis ( el, ; 2 March ( OS 18 February) 188326 October 1957) was a Greek writer. Widely considered a giant of modern Greek literature, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in nine different years. Kazantzakis's n ...

, a Greek writer and philosopher. Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is Crete's main and busiest airport, serving

(Ηράκλειο), Aghios Nikolaos (Άγιος Νικόλαος), Malia (Mάλλια),

Hersonissos Hersonissos ( el, Χερσόνησος, meaning "peninsula", ''Chersónisos'', ), also transliterated as ''Chersonissos'' and ''Hersónisos'', is a town and a local government unit in the north of Crete, bordering the Mediterranean / Aegean Sea. T ...

(Χερσόνησος), Stalida (Σταλίδα), Elounda (Ελούντα) and other resorts. A new airport for Heraklion, located 39 km to the south-east of the city at

Kasteli Kastelli ( el, Καστέλλι, ''Kastélli''; also Καστέλι, ''Kastéli''), often called Kastelli Pediadas (Greek: Καστέλλι Πεδιάδας) to differentiate it from Kissamos (also occasionally called Kastelli-Kissamos) is a villag ...

, is under construction and due to open by 2025. Once completed, the new Kasteli International Airport will replace the current Heraklion International Airport as the hub for central Crete.

History

The airport first opened in March 1939. This was then merely a piece of flat agricultural land. The first aeroplane (a

Junkers Ju 52 The Junkers Ju 52/3m (nicknamed ''Tante Ju'' ("Aunt Ju") and ''Iron Annie'') is a transport aircraft that was designed and manufactured by German aviation company Junkers. Development of the Ju 52 commenced during 1930, headed by German aero ...

) carried the first passengers to the site. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the airfield was the site of the

Battle of Heraklion The Battle of Heraklion was part of the Battle of Crete, fought during World War II on the Greek island of Crete between 20 and 30 May 1941. British, Australian and Greek forces of 14th Infantry Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Brian Chappel, ...

, during the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis Powers, Axis Airborne forces, airborne and amphibious assault, amphibious ope ...

in 1941. Civilian operations ceased, but in the autumn of 1946 traffic resumed, introducing the

DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

aircraft. At first, the airport only offered very basic service, with only primitive installations on the site, in the form of three tents, smoke for wind determination and storm lamps for runway lighting. In 1947, the first (small) terminal was erected.

Hellenic Airlines Hellenic Airlines ( el, Ελληνικαί Αεροπορικαί Συγκοινωνίαι, also known by its literal name, Greek Air Transport), often abbreviated ΕΛΛ.Α.Σ. in Greek and sometimes also known as Hellas in English, was a Greek-f ...

started commercial flights in 1948. At that time, a total of 4,000 people were served. The year 1953 saw the construction of a paved runway which was initially 1,850 meters long and oriented as 09/27. The next major event followed in 1954, when a four-engined DC-4 aircraft landed for the first time at the airport. In that year the airport handled approximately 18,000 passengers. From 1957 onward, the new Olympic Airways used the airport, starting services with the

DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with ...

aircraft. Jojo AIr also flew here but ended service on July 2, 2001. From 1968 until 1971, the runway was extended to 2,680 meters and a new terminal and other facilities were constructed, essentially making it a new airport. On March 18, 1971, the first charter flight from abroad (

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

) operated at the airport. The new airport itself was officially inaugurated on May 5, 1972. The airport will cease operations in 2025 and will be substituted by the new International Airport of Heraklion located in the region of Kasteli. For more info refer to www.iahc.gr

Terminal extension

The latest airport expansion projects began in October 2017. The latest extension began in October 2017 and was completed on 30 March 2018, in time for the airport's high season.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Heraklion Airport:

Statistics

Traffic figures

Historical annual traffic statistics

Other facilities

The airline

Bluebird Airways Bluebird Airways is an airline with its head office on the property of Heraklion International Airport in Heraklion, Greece. History Bluebird Airways is a Greek airline, established in 2008 in Heraklion, Crete, Greece and is mainly involved ...

has its head office at the airport.Contact
"

. Retrieved on 19 September 2012. "Offices: Heraklion International Airport "N.Kazantzakis" �
Address in Greek
: "Γραφεία: Κρατικός αερολιμένας Ηρακλείου Νίκος Καζαντζάκης"

References

External links

*Official Website / Civil Aviation Authority
Heraklion International Airport, "N. Kazantzakis"
*Official Website / Airport page
"N. Kazantzakis"
*Greek Airport Guide

*LGIR o
Airliners.net
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