Heraklion Airport Guide: Crete’s Crowded Seaside Gateway
Heraklion Airport is Greece's second busiest, squeezed between city and sea. Explore its runways, airlines, routes, spotting and the move to Kastelli.
By The Aviation Hub
5 min read
Updated October 20, 2026 
Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport sits on the north coast of Crete, about 3 miles (5 km) east of Heraklion city centre. It is the main gateway to Greece’s largest island and, after Athens, the country’s second busiest airport. Heraklion Airport handled just over 10 million passengers in 2025, most of them on summer holiday flights from northern Europe. Hemmed in by the city and the sea, it is living on borrowed time, with a replacement at Kastelli due to take over.
Heraklion Airport at a Glance
The IATA code is HER and the ICAO code is LGIR. The field sits 115 feet (35 m) above sea level beside the suburb of Nea Alikarnassos, with the Aegean on its northern edge. It has two runways and one passenger terminal, and it doubles as a military air base. In 2025 it handled 10,033,151 passengers, up 6.9 per cent, and almost 67,000 aircraft movements.
Sky Express and Bluebird Airways use Heraklion Airport as a hub, and Bluebird has its head office on site. Aegean Airlines treats it as a seasonal focus city, as does the newer carrier Animawings. The Greek state runs the airport through its civil aviation authority. Flight information is posted on the airport’s official website.
How Heraklion’s Airport Came to Be
The airport opened in March 1939 on a stretch of flat farmland east of the city. The first passengers arrived on a Junkers Ju 52. Two years later the airfield was a battleground. In May 1941 German paratroopers attacked it during the Battle of Crete, and the Battle of Heraklion raged around the runway before the island fell.
Tourism transformed the field after the war. A new terminal was built between 1968 and 1971 as charter flights from Germany, Scandinavia and the UK began to arrive in numbers. The building was extended many times, most recently in an expansion completed on 30 March 2018. The airport is named after Nikos Kazantzakis, the Heraklion born writer whose novel Zorba the Greek made Crete famous around the world.
Heraklion Airport has since become a byword for summer congestion. The terminal and apron were never designed for 10 million passengers, and the site has no room to grow.
Runways at Heraklion Airport
The main runway, 09/27, is asphalt, 2,714 metres (8,904 feet) long and 45 metres wide. It handles almost every airline movement, from Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX jets to the occasional wide body charter. Runway 12/30 is a short asphalt strip of 1,566 metres (5,138 feet) by 50 metres and sees little airline use.
The runway runs along the coast. In the summer the strong north westerly meltemi wind usually sets up arrivals on runway 27, which approach low over the sea and the beaches east of the field. Departures on 27 climb out over the edge of the city. With limited apron space and military traffic sharing the field, summer Saturdays push the airport to its limits.
Terminals and Airlines
All passenger flights at Heraklion Airport use the single terminal, which handles both Schengen and non Schengen traffic. On peak days the queues spill out of the building, a familiar complaint from holidaymakers.
Sky Express and Aegean Airlines fly to Athens many times a day, and Aegean adds seasonal international routes. Bluebird Airways links Crete with Tel Aviv. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Condor, Eurowings, Edelweiss, Transavia, Wizz Air and SAS bring tourists from across Europe, mostly in Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 aircraft.
The airline mix is almost entirely leisure driven. Every summer dozens of carriers return for the season, and the winter schedule shrinks to mainly domestic flights plus a handful of year round international routes.
Routes and Destinations
Athens is the busiest domestic route, with frequent flights from Sky Express and Aegean through the year. Thessaloniki and smaller Greek airports add domestic links. Istanbul, Munich and Frankfurt feature among the international connections, while summer brings a long list of seasonal routes.
Germany and the UK supply the most tourists, with Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Poland, Italy and France close behind. Tel Aviv is a strong market for Israeli holidaymakers. Routes to Dublin and Scotland, at almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km), are among the longest from Heraklion Airport. Cargo is minor.
The season runs from April to October, peaking in July and August. Shoulder months have grown as Crete markets itself as a year round destination.
Getting to and from Heraklion Airport
There is no rail on Crete. City buses run from outside the terminal to central Heraklion and the port in about 15 to 20 minutes, which makes them the cheapest sensible option for travellers staying in the city.
Long distance KTEL buses serve resorts such as Hersonissos, Malia and Agios Nikolaos to the east, and Rethymno and Chania to the west, via the main coastal highway. Taxis wait outside arrivals, with fares to the city centre of around 15 to 20 euros. Car hire desks sit in the terminal, and parking is limited and expensive in summer. Most package holidaymakers transfer by coach straight from the kerb at Heraklion Airport.
Spotting and Photography
Spotting at Heraklion Airport is a summer tradition. The beach at Amnissos, east of the runway, puts arrivals on 27 low overhead, and photographers line the shore on busy Saturdays. The western end, near the city, offers views of departures.
The sun sits to the south for most of the day, so the beach positions on the northern side are backlit at midday. Early morning and late afternoon give the best light. Variety is excellent in summer, with dozens of European liveries and Hellenic Air Force aircraft sharing the field.
The airport is a military base as well as a civil one. Never photograph military aircraft or installations, stay off the perimeter fence and respect instructions from police and security staff.
What Comes Next
The future lies at Kastelli, about 24 miles (39 km) by road south east of Heraklion, where a new airport is under construction. It is due to open by 2027, when the current field is scheduled to close to commercial traffic. Kastelli will offer a longer runway, a larger terminal and room to grow.
Until then, the old field will remain under heavy pressure, as shown when protesting farmers occupied the apron in 2025. Heraklion Airport is heading for retirement, and its closure will free coastal land for the city. See where both sites sit on the Airports of the World map.
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