Rhodes International Airport

Rhodes International Airport "Diagoras" (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Ρόδου "Διαγόρας"), or Diagoras International Airport (IATA: RHO, ICAO: LGRP), is located on the West side of the island of Rhodes in Greece. The facility is located just north of the village Paradeisi, about 14 km southwest of the capital city, Rodos. Rhodes International Airport was the fourth busiest airport in Greece as of 2019, with 5,542,567 passengers utilizing the airport.[2]

Rhodes International Airport "Diagoras"

Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Ρόδος "Διαγόρας"
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGreek state
OperatorFraport Greece
ServesRhodes
LocationParadeisi
Hub forOlympic Air
Focus city forAegean Airlines
Elevation AMSL6 m / 19 ft
Coordinates36°24′19.51″N 28°05′10.29″E
Websiterho-airport.gr
Map
RHO
Location of airport in Greece
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 3,305 10,844 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers5,542,567
Passenger traffic change 0.5%
Aircraft movements37,468
Aircraft movements change 3.1%
Runway[1] Statistics[2]

History
Check-in at Rhodes Airport

Civil aviation on Rhodes started after the Second World War, on the location of the nearby military Rhodes Maritsa Airport.

This was the island's main airport until 1977, when the new Rhodes International Airport was opened. The need for a new facility was big, as the 'old' Maritsa airport did not meet the needs for a modern civil airport. The new "Diagoras" airport was built in 1977. It was decided that, on this location, it would meet the needs of the island better.

Improvements have been made to the airport, like expansion of taxiways, platform and airport buildings. The most recent upgrade is a new passenger terminal, opened in 2005, to accommodate the growing number of charter flights and passengers. The airport's plants currently cover a total area of 60,000 m2[3]

In 2015, Rhodes Airport was closed for 14 hours after a 'sinkhole' appeared in the runway. Flights were diverted to surrounding airports such as Kos and Heraklion as well as Athens and the runway was fixed and reopened shortly afterwards.

In December 2015, the privatisation of Rhodes International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement between the Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture and the state privatisation fund.[4] "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters.[5] According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Rhodes International Airport) for 40 years as of autumn 2016.

Facilities

Terminal

Rhodes Airport terminal is actually 2 separate buildings with a joined corridor in the middle. Departures are served both in ground (check-ins, baggage checks) and first floor (passenger screening, gates, shops) while arrivals are served only in ground floor's southern corner where passport control, customs and baggage reclaim operate. Airport does not have air bridges so boarding and disembarking require the use of buses.

Both terminals are and will be under renovations for the next couple of years from Fraport as a series of chronic problems need to be addressed. Toilets and air conditioning system were first to be fixed while more complicated works including new check in facilities that will eliminate double checks for baggage as well interior remodeling will proceed gradually during low traffic winter months.

Airport also hosts all necessary services such as a police station, a medical clinic, airline and handlers offices, rent-a-car and tour operators kiosks, VIP halls as well recently refurbished duty free shops, cafes and restaurants.

Runway

The airport's single runway direction is 070/250, having a length of 3,306 meters and a width of 60 meters. There are six taxiways connecting the runway with the terminal. Tarmac can accommodate up to 14 airplanes simultaneously and up to A380. New parking spots as well rearrangements on airplanes' parking patterns engaging ground vehicles is expected to increase capacity.

Future of the Airport - Fraport Greece’s investment plan

On 22 March 2017, the Fraport-Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including the International Airport of Rhodes.[6]

The following summarizes the enhancement changes that started in November 2017 and will be implemented for Rhodes International Airport under Fraport Greece’s investment plan: Immediate actions that were implemented at the airports as soon as Fraport Greece took over operations and before the launch of the 2017 Summer season included:

  • General clean-up
  • Improving lighting, marking of airside areas.
  • Upgrading sanitary facilities
  • Enhancing services and offering new free Internet connection (WiFi)
  • Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airports
  • Remodeling the current terminal
  • Reorganizing the airport apron area
  • New fire station
  • 13 percent increase in the number of check-in counters (from 40 to 45)
  • 13 percent increase in the number of departure gates (from 16 to 18)
  • 71 percent in the number of security-check lanes (from 7 to 12)
  • 25 percent increase in the number of baggage reclaim belts (from 4 to 5)

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens, Thessaloniki
Seasonal: Frankfurt, Heraklion, Larnaca, Lyon, Marseille, Moscow–Domodedovo, Munich, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Saint Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Zürich
Seasonal charter: Åre Östersund[7], Bari, Beirut, Belgrade, Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bucharest[8], Budapest, Cluj–Napoca, Copenhagen[9], Košice, Ljubljana, Molde,[10] Nantes, Odense, Oslo, Rostov-on-Don, Skellefteå, Wrocław, Yerevan
Aer Lingus Seasonal: Dublin
Aeroflot Seasonal charter: Moscow–Sheremetyevo
airBaltic Seasonal: Riga
Aircompany Armenia Seasonal: Yerevan
Alitalia Seasonal: Milan–Linate, Rome–Fiumicino[11]
Arkia Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna
Aviolet Seasonal charter: Belgrade
Azur Air Seasonal charter: Moscow–Vnukovo
Belavia Seasonal charter: Minsk[12]
Blue Air Seasonal: Bucharest (begins 2 June 2021)[13]
Bluebird Airways Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Blue Panorama Airlines Seasonal: Bergamo,[14] Bologna, Rome–Fiumicino
British Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick, London–Heathrow[15]
Bulgaria Air Seasonal: Sofia (begins 22 May 2021)[16]
Buzz Seasonal charter: Kraków[17]
Chair Airlines Seasonal: Zürich
Condor Seasonal: Berlin,[18] Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Stuttgart, Zürich (begins 2 May 2021)[19]
Corendon Airlines[20] Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse (begins 1 May 2021),[21][22] Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Erfurt/Weimar,[23] Friedrichshafen,[23] Graz, Hamburg (begins 3 October 2021),[22] Hannover, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden,[23] Katowice,[23] Leipzig/Halle, Linz, London–Gatwick (begins 3 June 2021),[22][24] Memmingen,[23] Munich, Münster/Osnabrück, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Weeze (begins 4 June 2021)[22]
Seasonal charter: Billund,[25] Bratislava ,[23] Copenhagen,[25] Joensuu,[25] Stockholm–Arlanda[25]
Corendon Dutch Airlines Seasonal: Maastricht/Aachen
Cyprus Airways Seasonal: Larnaca
easyJet Seasonal: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bristol, Liverpool, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Milan–Malpensa, Paris–Orly
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Gdańsk,[17] Katowice,[17] Kraków,[17] Łódź,[17] Poznań,[17] Wrocław[17]
Eurowings Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart[26]
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki
FlexFlight Seasonal charter: Vilnius
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Leipzig/Halle[27]
GetJet Airlines Seasonal charter: Vilnius
Helvetic Airways Seasonal charter: Zürich
Israir Seasonal: Haifa,[28] Tel Aviv
Jet2.com Seasonal: Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bristol (begins 25 May 2021),[29] East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
LOT Polish Airlines Seasonal: Gdańsk,[30] Katowice,[31] Warsaw–Chopin,[30] Wrocław[31]
Lufthansa Seasonal: Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair Seasonal: Luxembourg
Neos Seasonal: Bergamo, Bologna, Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino, Verona[32]
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Seasonal charter: Luleå ,[7] Stavanger,[33] Trondheim
Novair Seasonal charter: Ålesund ,[34] Oulu, Skellefteå
Olympic Air Kastellorizo
Ryanair Seasonal: Berlin,[35] Charleroi, East Midlands, Kaunas, London–Stansted, Manchester, Naples (resumes 3 July 2021), Pisa, Treviso (begins 2 June 2021),[36] Vienna[37]
Royal Flight[38] Seasonal charter: Krasnodar, Moscow–Sheremetyevo
S7 Airlines Seasonal: Moscow–Domodedovo[39]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal: Copenhagen[40]
Seasonal charter: Umeå,[7] Trondheim
Sky Express Athens (begins 28 March 2021),[41] Astypalaia, Chios, Heraklion, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kos, Lemnos, Leros, Mytilene, Samos
Seasonal: Sitia[42]
SkyUp[43] Seasonal: Kharkiv (begins 1 May 2021), Kyiv–Boryspil, Lviv (begins 25 May 2021)
Smartwings Seasonal: Bratislava, Brno, Budapest, Košice, Ostrava, Pardubice, Prague, Wrocław[17]
Sunclass Airlines Seasonal charter: Åre Östersund,[7] Bergen,[44] Billund,[45] Copenhagen,[45] Borlänge,[7] Gothenburg,[7] Helsinki,[46] Karlstad,[7] Luleå, Malmö,[7] Norrköping,[7] Örebro,[7] Oslo,[44] Sandefjord,[44] Stavanger,[44] Stockholm–Arlanda,[7] Trondheim,[44] Växjö[7]
Sundair Seasonal: Bremen, Dresden, Kassel[47]
Swiss International Air Lines Seasonal: Geneva, Zürich
Trade Air Seasonal charter: Ljubljana
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam, Lyon (begins 10 April 2021),[48] Nantes,[49] Paris–Orly
TUI Airways[50] Seasonal: Aberdeen, Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Doncaster/Sheffield, East Midlands, Exeter, Glasgow, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich[51]
Seasonal charter: Dublin[52]
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels, Charleroi, Liège, Ostend/Bruges
Seasonal charter: Dole,[53] Strasbourg[53]
TUI fly Deutschland Seasonal: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, Stuttgart
TUI fly Netherlands Seasonal: Amsterdam, Rotterdam
Ural Airlines Seasonal charter: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg[54]
Volotea Athens
Seasonal: Bari (begins 5 July 2021),[55] Palermo,[56] Venice
Vueling Seasonal: Rome–Fiumicino[57]
Windrose Airlines Seasonal charter: Kyiv–Boryspil[58]
Wizz Air[59] Seasonal: Budapest, London–Luton, Vienna

Traffic figures

Figures are taken from the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) [60] until 2016 and since 2017 from the official website of the airport.[61]

Year Passengers
Domestic International Total
1994 380,072 2,111,714 2,491,786
1995 419,701 1,924,922 2,344,623
1996 477,396 1,764,121 2,241,517
1997 559,768 1,955,527 2,515,295
1998 535,284 2,137,028 2,672,312
1999 638,389 2,653,129 3,291,518
2000 720,560 2,686,490 3,407,050
2001 682,469 2,745,706 3,428,175
2002 628,837 2,601,646 3,230,483
2003 689,315 2,476,755 3,166,070
2004 697,873 2,338,650 3,036,523
2005 750,476 2,457,038 3,207,514
2006 809,965 2,681,557 3,491,522
2007 839,326 2,786,636 3,625,962
2008 843,529 2,723,940 3,567,469
2009 826,677 2,643,434 3,470,111
2010 736,566 2,850,006 3,586,572
2011 676,463 3,471,923 4,148,386
2012 600,167 3,213,780 3,813,947
2013 626,594 3,573,465 4,200,059
2014 691,040 3,861,016 4,552,056
2015 793,025 3,785,998 4,579,023
2016 848,878 4,093,508 4,942,386
2017 868,459 4,432,764 5,301,223
2018 829,475 4,738,273 5,567,748
2019 803.996 4.738.571 5.542.567
2020 352.985 1.198.138 1.551.123

Transport

Public bus: Bus service is provided between the Airport and the city of Rhodes (No 23-35). Bus stop is located between the new and the old terminal.[62]

Taxi: Taxi service is available outside Rhodes Airport arrivals hall.[63]

Car: Rhodes Airport is located 14 km from the city of Rhodes and is accessible from the provincial road Rhodes-Kamiros.[64]

See also

References
  1. Jeppesen aerodrome charts
  2. "RODOS AIRPORT "DIAGORAS"". rho-airport.gr. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  3. "Rhodes Diagoras International Airport History, Facts and Overview". Airports Guides. airports-guides.com. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  4. "Tornos News | Greece signs privatization of 14 regional airports with Germany's Fraport". tornosnews.gr. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  5. Reuters Editorial. "REFILE-UPDATE 1-Greece signs major privatisation deal with Germany's Fraport | Reuters". uk.reuters.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  6. "Fraport Greece’s Development Plan for the New Era at the Greek Regional Airports", fraport-greece.com
  7. "Flight". ving.se.
  8. https://en.about.aegeanair.com/company/services/charter/
  9. "Grækere åbner tredje CPH-rute". 12 December 2015.
  10. "MOLDE AIRPORT - RHODES". avinor.no. 5 July 2018.
  11. "Alitalia - Biglietti aerei - Voli nazionali e internazionali". alitalia.com. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. "Flight". mouzenidis.com.
  13. https://boardingpass.ro/bucuresti-zakynthos-heraklion-rodos-si-olbia-cu-blue-air-in-2021/?utm_medium=onesignal&utm_source=notif&utm_campaign=push
  14. "Blu Express Adds New Milan Bergamo – Greece Seasonal Routes Jul – Sep 2015". Airline Route. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  15. "GET INTO THE 2020 HOLIDAY SPIRIT WITH SIX NEW BRITISH AIRWAYS ROUTES FROM HEATHROW". British Airways. 12 December 2019.
  16. https://www.air.bg/bg/destinacii
  17. "Charter flights". tui.pl.
  18. Liu, Jim (7 January 2020). "Condor S20 Short-Haul network additions as of 06JAN20". routesonline.com.
  19. http://condor-newsroom.condor.com/en/de/news-article/in-summer-2021-condor-will-fly-from-zurich-to-the-most-popular-vacation-destinations/
  20. "Flights". corendonairlines.com.
  21. https://www.corendonairlines.com/news/basel-flightplan-summer2021
  22. https://www.corendonairlines.com/docs/BSL-FlightPlan-EN.pdf
  23. Liu, Jim (27 January 2020). "Corendon Airlines S20 Network expansion". routesonline.com.
  24. https://www.corendonairlines.com/
  25. Liu, Jim. "Corendon Airlines Europe S19 new routes/sectors". Routesonline. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  26. 2017, UBM (UK) Ltd. "Eurowings expands Stuttgart service in S17". Retrieved 4 May 2017.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  27. "Tui sends Freebird Europe to Leipzig / Halle - Airbus A320 is stationed in Schkeuditz". lvz.de. 4 October 2019.
  28. Liu, Jim (3 February 2020). "Israir adds Haifa – Rhodes service from June 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  29. "Jet2's Bristol Airport base will bring 450,000-holiday seats". ukaviation.news. 11 November 2020.
  30. https://businessinsider.com.pl/firmy/wakacje-2020-lot-poleci-do-kurortow-w-grecji-hiszpanii-i-wloch/zz5f5ew
  31. "LOT will launch 130 connections to several dozen European resorts". 24 June 2020.
  32. "Flight Times". neosair.it/en.
  33. "Only Flight". tui.no.
  34. Liu, Jim (3 January 2020). "Nova Airlines expands Rhodes service in S20". routesonline.com.
  35. "Ryanair to swap German bases with LaudaMotion". ch-aviation.com. 20 October 2018.
  36. https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-announces-new-base-at-venice-treviso-2-based-aircraft-200m-investment-and-18-new-routes/
  37. Liu, Jim. "Ryanair / Laudamotion S20 network consolidation as of 18JUN20". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  38. "Flight Map". royalflight.ru.
  39. "S7 Airlines opens flights to Rhodes". S7 Airlines. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  40. Liu, Jim (9 October 2019). "SAS S20 Short-Haul network changes as of 08OCT19". routesonline.com.
  41. https://etravelnews.gr/sky-express-nea-dromologia-athina-thessaloniki-athina-rodos/
  42. Ltd. 2018, UBM (UK). "Sky Express new domestic routes addition in S17". Routesonline. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  43. "Schedule". skyup.aero.
  44. "Flight". ving.no.
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  46. "Flight". tjareborg.fi.
  47. https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/287002/sundair-s20-operations-as-of-18oct19/
  48. https://centreforaviation.com/news/transavia-france-to-commence-four-international-services-from-lyon-in-apr-2021-1050595
  49. Liu, Jim. "Transavia France S20 network expansion as of 17JAN20". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  50. "Flight Timetable". tui.co.uk. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  51. 2017, UBM (UK) Ltd. "Thomson outlines planned new routes in S17". Retrieved 4 May 2017.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  52. "Flight Timetable". tuiholidays.ie. 10 February 2018.
  53. 2017, UBM (UK) Ltd. "TUI Belgium outlines S17 new French / Italian routes". Retrieved 4 May 2017.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  54. "Flight Search". pegasys.pegast.ru. 19 February 2018.
  55. https://www.volotea.com/el/
  56. "VOLOTEA - Cheap flights, offers and plane tickets to Europe". Volotea. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  57. "Vueling open 24 new routes from Rome". Vuelingnews.com. 20 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 November 2013.
  58. "WindRose S16 Planned Operations :: Routesonline". airlineroute.net. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  59. https://wizzair.com/en-gb/flights/timetable#/
  60. "RODOS AIRPORT", ypa.gr
  61. "Air Traffic statistics", rho-airport.gr
  62. "By Public Bus | Rhodes Airport (RHO)". www.rho-airport.gr. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  63. "By Taxi | Rhodes Airport (RHO)". www.rho-airport.gr. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  64. "By Car | Rhodes Airport (RHO)". www.rho-airport.gr. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
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