Araxos Airport ( el, Αεροδρόμιο Αράξου) is the
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
of
Patras, the third-largest city in
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 wit ...
. It serves as a combined civilian and military airport and is located near its namesake, the village of
Araxos
Araxos ( el, Άραξος, la, Araxus) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Larissos of the municipality West Achaea in the northwestern part of Achaea, Greece. The community consists of the villages Araxos, Akrotirio Araxos and ...
,
Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. T ...
. It is also known as ''
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...
Airport'' and primarily is used as an active
air base
An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operatio ...
for the
Hellenic Air Force
, colours =
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, anniversaries = 8 November
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, with some civilian services to European destinations during the summer months. The airport facilities were very limited until 2007, when the construction of a new 1,477 m
2 arrivals building was completed. Today the airport terminal covers a total area of 2,300 m
2.
116th Combat Wing
Araxos was established as a military airport in 1936, but construction of the runway was not completed until 1941, when it also became the site of the first
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
installation in Greece.
The airport has served as the home base of the Hellenic Air Force's 116th Combat Wing (116 Πτέρυγα Μάχης) since May 1969, and of its precursor the 116th Combat Group (116 Σμηναρχία Μάχης) since April 1962. It currently comprises the
336th Bomber Squadron and
335th Squadron.
The main aircraft used by both squadrons is
F-16 Block 52+ Advanced.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Patras Araxos Airport:
Statistics
Ground transport
Araxos airport is located 45 km west of the city of
Patras and 65 km north of
Pyrgos. There are bus services from Patras to Araxos.
KTEL Achaias Bus services to Araxos airport (in Greek)
/ref> There is no train connection.
See also
*Transport in Greece
Transport in Greece has undergone significant changes in the past two decades, vastly modernizing the country's infrastructure and transportation. Although ferry transport between islands remains the prominent method of transport between the nat ...
*Kalogria beach
Kalogria beach ( el, Παραλία Καλόγριας) is the name of a sandy and award-winning with Blue Flag beach that is located in the vicinity of the village Araxos, in Northwestern Peloponnese, Greece. The beach is beside the Sprofylia nat ...
References
External links
official page
*
{{authority control
Airports in Greece
Hellenic Air Force bases
Buildings and structures in Achaea
Transport infrastructure in Western Greece