Heraklion International Airport
Heraklion International Airport, “Nikos Kazantzakis” 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 center of Heraklion, near the municipality of Nea Alikarnassos. It is a shared civil/military facility.
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 ressumed, introducing the DC-3 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 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.
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.
Heraklion Port
From the start of its modern day history, the Port of Heraklion served as one of Crete’s most important sea transportation links to Piraeus and the Aegean Islands.
Currently there are over 1300 coastal shipping and 900 cargo calls annually. Thanks to the significant growth of cruising in the East Mediterranean of the last decade, the Port of Heraklion also began to develop as an emerging turnaround and transit cruise port, now receiving more than 170 cruise calls annually.
In total, about 2.2 million ferry passengers, 200,000 cruise passengers, 6 million tons of cargo and 15,000 containers pass though our gates each year.
The Heraklion Port has a very strategic location along the highway system of Crete. It sits right in the middle of Crete’s main highway that runs alongside the north coast of the island. This main highway links the towns of Kissamos, Chania, Rethymnon, Heraklion, Agios Nikolaos and Sitia from west to east.
Chania International Airport
Chania International Airport, “Daskalogiannis” is an international airport located near Souda Bay on the Akrotiri Peninsula of the Greek island of Crete, serving the city of Chania, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) away. Moreover, it is a gateway to western Crete for an increasing amount of tourists.
It is the fifth busiest airport in Greece and 8th in Balkan peninsula in terms of passengers. From 2010 to 2016 has a great increase about 100% in passengers arrivals. The airport is connected with many countries (about 30) from Europe and Asia especially in summer season and with flights connections in Greece and Cyprus whole year. The last season the arrivals of passengers were about 3.000.000.