Heraklion International Airport

Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis" (IATA: HER, ICAO: LGIR) is the primary airport on the island of Crete, Greece, and the country's second busiest airport after Athens International Airport. It is located about 5 km east of the main city centre of Heraklion, near the municipality of Nea Alikarnassos. It is a shared civil/military facility. The airport is named after Heraklion native Nikos Kazantzakis, a Greek writer and philosopher. Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is Crete's main and busiest airport, serving Heraklion (Ηράκλειο), Aghios Nikolaos (Άγιος Νικόλαος), Malia (Mάλλια), Hersonissos (Χερσόνησος), Stalida (Σταλίδα), Elounda (Ελούντα) and other resorts.

Heraklion International Airport
"Nikos Kazantzakis"

Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Ηρακλείου
"Νίκος Καζαντζάκης"
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OwnerGreek State
ServesHeraklion
LocationHeraklion, Greece
Opened1937 (1937)
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL115 ft / 35 m
Coordinates35°20′23″N 25°10′49″E
Map
HER
Location of airport in Greece
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,714 8,800 Asphalt
12/30 1,566 5,138 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers7,933,558
Passenger traffic change 2.0%
Aircraft movements52,294
Aircraft movements change 6.1%
Sources: Runways[1] Statistics: Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority[2]

A new airport for Heraklion, located 39 km to the south-east of the city at Kasteli, is under construction and due to open by 2025.[3] 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) carried the first passengers to the site. During the Second World War operations ceased, but in the fall of 1946 traffic resumed, introducing the DC-3 aircraft.[4]

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 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 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) operated at the airport. The new airport itself was officially inaugurated on May 5, 1972.

Terminal Extension

The latest airport expansion projects began in October 2017. The projects will be entirely financed by the Duty Free Shops SA, in agreement with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport and the Hellenic Ministry of Waters, without any cost to the Greek government, include:[5][6][7][8]

  • the redesign of the layout of the ground and the first floors of the airport
  • the expansion of the terminal by 2,900 m2), an extension of 17 meters to the airside
  • the renovation of a further 8,000 m2) within the existing terminal
  • the increase in the number of gates for arrivals and departures of passengers
  • integration of the arrival hall
  • the modification of a luggage belt, so that passengers are not required to queues for their receipt
  • improve the operation of electronic ticketing
  • upgrading the video ad system
  • the modernization of air conditioning in the arrivals hall (budget 700.000 euros)

The latest extension began in October 2017 and was completed on 30 March 2018, in time for the airport's high season.[9][10][11]

Further events

YearEvent
1973–1975Construction of aircraft hangars and service roads
1988Inauguration of new international departure and arrivals lounges (900 m2)
1992Completion of new international arrivals lounge
1994Operation of new international departures lounge (2,000 m2)
1996Completion of airport expansion by 11,700 m2
1997Operation of new international departures lounge (5,000 m2)
2005Completion of airport expansion by 18,985 m2
2018Expansion of the terminal by 2,900 m2 and renovation of a further 8,000 m2

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens, Thessaloniki
Seasonal: Berlin (begins 3 April 2021),[12] Bordeaux, Brest,[13] Deauville, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva (resumes 7 May 2021),[12] Larnaca, London–Gatwick (resumes 1 May 2021),[12] Lyon, Marseille, Metz/Nancy, Milan–Malpensa (resumes 24 May 2021),[12] Moscow–Domodedovo, Munich, Nantes, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Prague (resumes 15 May 2021),[12] Tel Aviv, Toulouse, Vienna (resumes 8 May 2021),[12] Warsaw–Chopin (begins 16 May 2021),[12] Yerevan, Zürich[14]
Seasonal charter: Cluj–Napoca, Katowice
Aeroflot Seasonal: Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Air France Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Moldova Seasonal charter: Chișinău[15]
airBaltic Seasonal charter: Riga[16]
Alitalia Seasonal: Milan–Linate,[17] Rome–Fiumicino[18]
Animawings[19] Seasonal: Bucharest
Arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv
ASL Airlines France Seasonal charter: Lyon,[20] Manchester[20]
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna
Seasonal charter: Graz,[21] Linz,[21] Salzburg[21]
Aviolet Seasonal charter: Belgrade
Azur Air Seasonal charter: Düsseldorf, Moscow–Vnukovo
Belavia Seasonal charter: Minsk
Blue Air Seasonal: Bucharest (begins 15 May 2021)[22]
Seasonal charter: Cluj–Napoca
Bluebird Airways Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Blue Panorama Airlines Seasonal: Bergamo,[23] Bologna,[24] Rome–Fiumicino
British Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick[25]
Brussels Airlines Seasonal: Brussels[26]
Bulgaria Air Seasonal: Sofia (begins 22 May 2021)[27]
Buzz Seasonal charter: Katowice,[28] Kraków,[28] Poznań,[28] Warsaw-Chopin[28]
Chair Airlines Seasonal: Zürich
Condor Seasonal: Berlin,[29] Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Stuttgart, Zürich (begins 1 May 2021) [30]
Corendon Airlines[31] Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse (begins 8 May 2021),[32] Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Erfurt/Weimar,[33] Friedrichshafen,[33] Graz, Hamburg, Hannover, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Katowice,[33] Leipzig/Halle, Linz, London–Gatwick (begins 10 June 2021),[34][35] Memmingen,[33] Munich,[33] Münster/Osnabrück, Nuremberg, Paderborn/Lippstadt, Rostock,[33] Stuttgart, Vienna, Warsaw–Chopin (begins 9 June 2021),[34] Weeze (begins 3 May 2021),[33] Zurich
Seasonal charter: Iasi,[33] Riga[33]
Corendon Dutch Airlines[36] Seasonal: Amsterdam, Brussels, Groningen, Maastricht/Aachen, Rotterdam/The Hague
Cyprus Airways Larnaca
easyJet Seasonal: Berlin, Bordeaux, Bristol, Edinburgh, Geneva, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Nantes, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zurich
Ellinair Thessaloniki
Seasonal: Bucharest, Belgrade, Cluj-Napoca, Katowice, Kharkiv, Kyiv–Zhuliany, Lviv, Moscow–Vnukovo, Odessa, Saint Petersburg, Warsaw–Chopin[37]
Seasonal charter: Lviv, Mineralnye Vody, Riga
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Katowice,[28] Warsaw–Chopin,[28] Wrocław[28]
Europe Airpost Seasonal charter: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Eurowings Seasonal: Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki
FlyOne Seasonal charter: Chișinău[15]
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Leipzig/Halle [38]
Helvetic Airways Seasonal charter: Zürich
Iberia Express Seasonal: Madrid
Israir Seasonal: Tel Aviv[39]
Jet2.com[40] Seasonal: Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bristol (begins 4 May 2021),[41] East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
LOT Polish Airlines Seasonal: Katowice,[42] Poznań,[42] Warsaw–Chopin,[42] Wrocław[42]
Lufthansa Seasonal: Frankfurt,[43] Munich
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg
Neos[44] Seasonal: Bergamo, Bologna, Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino, Verona
NordStar Seasonal charter: Moscow–Domodedovo
Nordwind Airlines[45] Seasonal charter: Kaliningrad, Kaluga ,[45] Kazan, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody ,[45] Moscow–Sheremetyevo, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Ufa, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Ryanair Seasonal: Berlin,[46] Bologna, Milan–Malpensa, Thessaloniki (begins 29 March 2021), Vienna[47]
S7 Airlines Seasonal: Moscow–Domodedovo[48]
Sky Express Athens, Kos, Rhodes, Thessaloniki[49]
Seasonal: Dortmund (begins 4 May 2021),[49], Hamburg (begins 4 May 2021),[49], Mytilene
SkyUp Seasonal: Kharkiv, Kyiv–Boryspil, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia
SmartLynx Airlines Seasonal charter: Riga,[50] Tallinn[50][51]
Smartwings[52] Seasonal: Bratislava, Brno, Katowice,[53] Košice, Lille,[54] Ostrava, Prague
Seasonal charter: Gdańsk, Poznań,[55] Warsaw–Chopin,[55] Wrocław[28]
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Billund,[56] Copenhagen,[56] Gothenburg,[57] Malmö,[57] Oslo,[58] Stockholm–Arlanda[57]
Sundair Seasonal: Berlin (begins 1 May 2021),[59] Dresden, Leipzig/Halle (begins 1 May 2021)[59]
Swiss International Air Lines Seasonal: Geneva, Zürich
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Lyon, Montpellier,[60] Nantes, Paris–Orly, Rotterdam/The Hague
TUI Airways[61] Seasonal: Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, East Midlands, Exeter, Glasgow, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich
Seasonal charter: Dublin[62]
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Lille, Ostend/Bruges
TUI fly Deutschland Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, Stuttgart
TUI fly Netherlands Seasonal: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Rotterdam/The Hague
Ural Airlines Seasonal charter: Yekaterinburg[63]
Volotea Athens
Seasonal: Bari, Genoa (begins 7 July 2021),[64] Lyon (begins 10 April 2021),[65] Marseille, Mykonos (begins 1 July 2021), Naples, Palermo (resumes 7 July 2021), Thessaloniki,[66] Toulouse, Venice, Verona
Vueling Seasonal: Barcelona, Rome–Fiumicino
Windrose Airlines Seasonal charter: Kyiv–Boryspil[67]
Wizz Air Larnaca (resumes 29 March 2021)[68]
Seasonal: Bucharest,[69] Budapest, Cardiff (begins 26 March 2021),[70] Chișinău (begins 16 June 2021),[71] Doncaster/Sheffield (begins 28 May 2021),[72] Dortmund (resumes 15 June 2021), Kraków (begins 15 June 2021),[73] London–Luton, Milan–Malpensa,[74] Vienna,[75] Warsaw-Chopin (begins 15 June 2021)[76]
Yakutia Airlines Seasonal charter: Moscow–Vnukovo[63]

Statistics

Traffic figures

Historical annual traffic statistics[77]

YearFlightsPassengersPassengers Change (%)
200139,2905,046,726 2.0
200236,6644,791,729 5.1
200339,5234,833,507 0.9
200438,1704,712,508 2,5
200538,2664,932,911 4.7
200643,7405,345,652 8.4
200746,0125,438,369 1.7
200845,2805,437,068 0.02
200944,8425,052,840 7.1
201042,3964,907,337 2.9
201144,5205,292,687 7.9
201240,8565,076,329 4.6
201343,5445,792,429 14.7
201443,6376,024,958 5.2
201543,9706,057,355 0.5
201647,8046,742,746 11.3
201751,1147,336,783 8.8
201855,6808,098,465 10.4
201952,2947,933,558 2.0

Other facilities

The airline Bluebird Airways has its head office at the airport.[78]

Trivia
  • It is often requested by airlines that passengers do not take any photographs or video of the runway. This is because of a Hellenic Air Force base (126 CG) which operates at the airport.

See also

References
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