Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis"

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 (3.1 mi) 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), Sisi (Σίσι) Elounda (Ελούντα) and other resorts.

Heraklion International Airport "Nikos Kazantzakis" Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Ηρακλείου "Νίκος Καζαντζάκης"
IATA: HER ICAO: LGIR
Summary
Airport type	Public / military
Owner	Greek State
Serves	Heraklion
Location	Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Opened	March 1939 (1939-03)
Hub for	Bluebird Airways Sky Express
Focus city for	Aegean Airlines (Seasonal) Animawings (Seasonal, from 3 June 2025)
Elevation AMSL	115 ft / 35 m
Coordinates	35°20′23″N 25°10′49″E
Website	www.heraklion-airport.gr
Map
HER/LGIR 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 (2024)
Passengers 9,384,233 Passenger traffic change 7.6 Aircraft movements 62,723 Aircraft movements change 9.1%
Sources: Runways[1] Statistics: Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority[2]

A new airport for Heraklion, located 39 km (24 mi) to the south-east of the city at Kasteli, is under construction and due to open by 2027.^[3] Once completed, the new Kasteli International Airport will replace the current Heraklion International Airport as the hub for central Crete, but also providing international links for all of Crete.

History

The airport first opened in March 1939. At that time, this was merely a piece of flat agricultural land. The first aeroplane (a Junkers Ju 52) carried the initial passengers to the site. During the Second World War, the airfield was the site of the Battle of Heraklion during the Battle of Crete, in 1941. Civilian operations ceased; but in the autumn 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

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 18 March 1971, the first charter flight from abroad operated to the airport. The new airport itself was officially inaugurated on 5 May 1972.^{[citation needed]}

The airport is scheduled to cease operations in 2027 and to be replaced by the (expanded and renamed) Kasteli Airport.^[5]

Terminal extension

The latest airport expansion projects began in October 2017.^[6][7][8][9]

The latest extension began in October 2017 and was completed on 30 March 2018, in time for the airport's high season.^[10][11][12]

Airlines and destinations

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

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens,[13] Thessaloniki[14] Seasonal: Alexandroupoli,[15] Bordeaux,[16] Corfu (begins 2 June 2025),[17] Deauville, Frankfurt,[18][19] Istanbul,[20] Kalamata,[21] Kos (begins 2 June 2025),[17] Lille,[22] Lyon,[16] Marseille, Metz/Nancy (begins 2 June 2025),[23] Munich,[24] Nantes,[16] Naxos (begins 1 June 2025),[17] Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[24] Rhodes,[25] Tel Aviv, Tirana,[26] Toulouse, Zurich[27][24] Seasonal charter: Brașov,[28] Bremen,[29] Budapest, Craiova, Erfurt/Weimar,[30] Friedrichshafen,[31] Iași, Lisbon, Memmingen,[32] Münster/Osnabrück,[33] Oradea, Pristina,[34] Timișoara, Yerevan
Aer Lingus	Seasonal: Dublin[35]
Air Astana	Seasonal: Almaty,[36] Astana[36]
Air France	Seasonal: Marseille, Nice, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Serbia	Seasonal: Belgrade[37]
airBaltic	Seasonal: Riga,[38] Tallinn,[39] Vilnius[39]
Animawings	Seasonal: Brașov (begins 3 June 2025),[40] Bucharest–Otopeni,[41] Cluj-Napoca (begins 14 June 2025),[40] Oradea (begins 3 June 2025)[40]
Arkia	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Austrian Airlines	Seasonal: Vienna[42]
Avion Express	Seasonal charter: Vilnius[43]
Azerbaijan Airlines	Seasonal charter: Baku (begins 7 June 2025)[44]
Bluebird Airways	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Braathens International Airways	Seasonal charter: Gothenburg,[45] Stockholm–Arlanda[45]
British Airways	Seasonal: London–Gatwick,[46][47] London–Heathrow[48]
Brussels Airlines	Seasonal: Brussels[49]
Bulgaria Air	Seasonal: Sofia[50]
Buzz	Seasonal charter: Katowice, Wrocław
Chair Airlines	Seasonal: Zurich[51]
Condor	Seasonal: Berlin,[52] Düsseldorf, Frankfurt,[53] Hamburg,[54] Leipzig/Halle, Munich,[54] Nuremberg,[55] Stuttgart,[56] Zürich[57]
Corendon Airlines	Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse,[58] Berlin,[59] Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf,[59] Erfurt/Weimar,[59] Graz,[60] Hannover,[59] Linz, Ljubljana,[61] London–Gatwick,[58][62] Manchester,[58][62] Munich,[58] Nuremberg, Stuttgart,[63] Tel Aviv,[64] Vienna, Warsaw–Chopin [58]
Corendon Dutch Airlines	Seasonal: Amsterdam, Brussels, Groningen, Maastricht/Aachen[65]
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca
Discover Airlines	Frankfurt[66] Seasonal: Munich[67]
easyJet	Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse,[68][69] Berlin,[70] Birmingham,[71] Bordeaux,[72] Bristol,[72] Edinburgh,[72] Geneva,[72] Liverpool,[73][69] London–Gatwick,[74] London–Luton,[72] Lyon,[75] Manchester,[76] Milan–Malpensa,[72] Nantes,[72] Naples,[77] Paris–Charles de Gaulle[78]
Edelweiss Air	Seasonal: Zurich[79]
Enter Air	Seasonal charter: Warsaw–Chopin[80]
European Air Charter	Seasonal charter: Graz, Linz,[81] Varna[82]
Eurowings	Seasonal: Berlin,[83] Cologne/Bonn,[84] Dortmund,[85] Düsseldorf,[86] Graz (begins 26 May 2025),[87] Hamburg,[88] Nuremberg,[89] Prague,[90] Salzburg,[91] Stuttgart[92] Seasonal charter: Innsbruck[93]
Finnair	Seasonal: Helsinki
FlyOne	Seasonal: Chișinău[94]
FlyOne Armenia	Seasonal: Yerevan (begins 1 June 2025)[95]
FLYYO	Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv[96]
GetJet Airlines	Seasonal charter: Vilnius
Helvetic Airways	Seasonal: Bern,[97] Zurich[98]
HiSky	Seasonal charter: Bucharest–Otopeni, Oradea, Timișoara
Iberojet	Seasonal charter: Lisbon
Israir	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[99]
ITA Airways	Seasonal: Milan–Linate, Rome–Fiumicino[100]
Jet2.com	Seasonal: Belfast–International,[101] Birmingham,[102] Bournemouth,[103] Bristol,[104] East Midlands,[105] Edinburgh,[106] Glasgow,[107] Leeds/Bradford,[108] Liverpool,[109] London–Luton,[110] London–Stansted,[111] Manchester,[112] Newcastle upon Tyne[113]
Leav Aviation	Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn[114]
Lufthansa	Seasonal: Frankfurt,[115][116] Munich[117]
Luxair	Seasonal: Luxembourg[118]
Marabu	Seasonal: Hamburg,[119] Leipzig/Halle,[120] Munich
Neos	Seasonal: Bergamo,[121][122] Bologna,[123] Catania, Milan–Malpensa,[124] Rome–Fiumicino,[125] Verona[126]
Nordica	Seasonal charter: Tallinn[127]
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Seasonal: Copenhagen,[128][129] Oslo[130]
Olympic Air	Seasonal: Rhodes
Ryanair	Thessaloniki[72] Seasonal: Bergamo,[72] Berlin,[72] Bologna,[72] Catania,[131] Charleroi,[72] Milan–Malpensa,[72] Vienna[72]
Saudia	Seasonal: Jeddah (begins 20 June 2025)[132]
Scandinavian Airlines	Seasonal: Copenhagen,[133] Oslo Seasonal charter: Gothenburg[134]
Sky Express	Athens,[135] Kos, Rhodes, Thessaloniki Seasonal: Brussels,[136] Karpathos, Larnaca[137] Lille, Lyon,[135] Marseille,[136] Nantes, Paris–Charles de Gaulle,[135] Volos, Zakynthos Seasonal charter: Amsterdam,[138] Bacău,[139] Belgrade,[140] Bratislava,[141] Bucharest–Otopeni,[142] Cluj-Napoca,[142] Iași,[142] Lisbon,[143] Košice,[139] Oradea,[144] Pardubice (begins 4 June 2025),[145] Sibiu,[142] Suceava,[144] Târgu Mureș,[142] Timisoara,[146] Weeze[147]
SkyUp	Seasonal: Chișinău[148]
SmartLynx Airlines[149][150]	Seasonal charter: Münster/Osnabrück,[151] Tallinn
Smartwings[152][153]	Seasonal: Bratislava,[154] Brno,[155] Košice,[156] Ostrava,[157] Prague[158] Seasonal charter: České Budějovice,[159] Gdańsk, Karlovy Vary,[160][161] Pardubice, Poznań, Warsaw–Chopin
Sunclass Airlines[162][163][164]	Seasonal charter: Billund, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Malmö, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Sundair[165]	Seasonal: Berlin, Bremen, Dresden
Sundor	Seasonal: Tel Aviv[166]
Swiss International Air Lines	Seasonal: Geneva[167]
Trade Air[168][169]	Seasonal charter: Ljubljana
Transavia	Amsterdam[170] Seasonal: Brussels,[171] Eindhoven,[172] Lyon, Marseille,[173] Montpellier, Nantes, Paris–Orly,[174] Rotterdam/The Hague[175]
TUI Airways[176][177]	Seasonal: Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Exeter, London–Gatwick, London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich
TUI fly Belgium[178]	Seasonal: Antwerp,[179] Brussels,[180] Liège,[181] Ostend/Bruges[182]
TUI fly Deutschland[183]	Seasonal: Düsseldorf,[184] Frankfurt,[185] Hannover,[186] Munich,[187] Stuttgart[188]
TUI fly Netherlands[189]	Seasonal: Amsterdam,[190] Dublin,[191][192] Eindhoven,[193] Rotterdam/The Hague[194]
Tus Airways	Larnaca[195] Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Volotea[196]	Seasonal: Bari, Bordeaux,[197] Brest,[198] Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Naples, Palermo (resumes 8 July 2025),[199] Strasbourg (begins 7 July 2025),[200] Toulouse, Verona
Vueling	Seasonal: Barcelona,[201] Rome–Fiumicino
Wizz Air	Seasonal: Belgrade, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Cluj-Napoca (begins 17 June 2025),[202] Gdańsk, Kraków, Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino, Sofia,[203] Tel Aviv (resumes 16 June 2025),[204] Warsaw–Chopin

Statistics

Traffic figures

Annual passenger traffic at HER airport. See Wikidata query.

Historical annual traffic statistics^[205][206]

Year	Flights	Passengers	Passengers change (%)
2001	39,290	5,046,726	2.0
2002	36,664	4,791,729	5.1
2003	39,523	4,833,507	0.9
2004	38,170	4,712,508	2.5
2005	38,266	4,932,911	4.7
2006	43,740	5,345,652	8.4
2007	46,012	5,438,369	1.7
2008	45,280	5,437,068	0.02
2009	44,842	5,052,840	7.1
2010	42,396	4,907,337	2.9
2011	44,520	5,292,687	7.9
2012	40,856	5,076,329	4.6
2013	43,544	5,792,429	14.7
2014	43,637	6,024,958	5.2
2015	43,970	6,057,355	0.5
2016	47,804	6,742,746	11.3
2017	51,114	7,336,783	8.8
2018	55,680	8,098,465	10.4
2019	52,294	7,933,558	2.0
2020	20,876	2,398,264	69.8
2021	38,628	5,046,236	112.2
2022	55,549	8,099,255	60.5
2023	57,473	8,723,031	7.7
2024	62,723	9,384,233	7.6

Other facilities

The airline Bluebird Airways has its head office at the airport.^[207] Sky Express maintains a lounge at the airport.^[208]

See also

• List of airports in Crete
• List of the busiest airports in Greece
• Transport in Greece