Airports in Greece: Travel Guide and List (Islands and Mainland)

Where are the airports in Greece? Which are the main Greek airports with international flights? Which Greek islands can you easily fly to?

These are very important and first-to-know-questions when organising your trip to Greece. You will find the answer to all of them in this article. We will look at airports on the mainland, at Greek islands international airports and at domestic islands airports. I will also give you some tips about transport from these airports.

One thing I have to say from the start: It’s great that you are looking at this country as your travel destination! It’s just impossible not to enjoy a trip there.

OK, let’s look in detail at the airports in Greece.

Quick links to organise the main points of your journey to Greece:

Flights.

Ferry schedules and tickets.

Accommodation: Booking.com

How many international airports are there in Greece?

When looking at airports with international flights, there are 7 airports on the mainland: Athens, Thessaloniki, Preveza, Kalamata, Kavala, Volos, and Patras.

The Greek islands with international airports are: Corfu, Zakynthos, Kefalonia, Santorini, Mykonos, Kos, Rhodos, Samos, Skiathos, Lesbos, and Crete.

As you see, Greece has a large number of airports, and for sure, you will find the best option for you. Probably, you are mostly interested in Athens airport or islands airports. Their description is available below.

Airports in Greece: Greece Mainland Airports

Airports in Greece: Athens International Airport

The main and largest airport in Greece is Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport of Athens (with code ATH). It works as the main hub, and you can change flights here to arrive at many small islands.

It’s a big and pretty main airport with over 170 destinations, domestic and international, with almost all major world cities.

The airport is well connected with the city centre and Piraeus port. The easiest way to reach the centre is by metro; it’s line number 3. You can also take a suburban train or bus.

To Piraeus Port, you can take the metro or bus X96. To reach Rafina and Lavrio ports, you need to take a bus.

If you land late (or fly very early), you don’t need to go to the centre. It’s easy to find accommodation closer to the airport. Look, for example, at the town of Artemida (which is at the sea). There are many accommodation options where they pick you up and bring you to the airport with included transport, and it takes around 15 minutes. It’s a very convenient option.

Airports in Greece: Thessaloniki Airport

The third busiest airport in Greece (the second is island airport) is an airport in the northern part of Greece, the airport of Thessaloniki. It has many domestic and international, mainly European cities. From the airport, you can get a bus or taxi.

Other Greek mainland airports

Other international airports in Greece are less busy. None of them is among the top 10 busiest airports in Greece. Except for Athens and Thessaloniki, all the airports in the top 10 are island airports.

These airports are: Preveza, Kalamata, Kavala, Volos, and Patras. From those, you are probably most interested in Preveza, Kavala, and Kalamata.

Kavala is a pretty town and a gateway to the island of Thassos. Similarly, Preveza is the gateway to Lefkada island (in the Ionian Islands group). To Preveza and Lefkada, you can get by bus.

Airports in Greece: Greek Islands with International Airports

Heraklion and Chania International Airport

Heraklion and Chania airports are airports on the island of Crete. Heraklion Airport is the second busiest airport in Greece, Chania Airport the sixth. Crete is the largest Greek island, with over 600,000 inhabitants and over 5 million tourists visiting annually. There is also a third airport on the island, Sitia Airport, but at the moment, it doesn’t have any international flights.

With these numbers, it’s not hard to imagine how busy both airports are. Heraklion has 7 domestic connections and many international connections. Many of them are seasonal and charter flights, and these are especially European destinations. Chania is a bit smaller, but it has many domestic and European destinations direct flights as well. From both airports, you can get to the city centres by bus.

Airports in Greece: Rhodes Airport

Rhodes is the biggest island in the Dodecanese Islands group and the fourth biggest in Greece. And it’s international airport is the fourth busiest airport in Greece, too. It’s located in the village of Paradisi, 16 km from the island’s capital, Rhodes Town. It has many flights to European destinations with standard airlines, low cost flights, and charters.

From the airport, you can get to Rhodes City by bus.

Airports in Greece: Santorini and Mykonos Airports

Santorini and Mykonos are the most known Cyclades islands (although not the biggest). Both have international airports with many destinations, especially during the summer. Both airports are also great starting point for island-hopping and visiting other islands in Cyclades group, which I truly recommend.

Santorini airport lies close to Fira, the island’s capital. To get to Fira, you can get a bus. On Fira station, you can change buses to other islands’ towns, for example, the most known Oia, and to the port (check out details on buses on Santorini here).

Mykonos International Airport is close to Mykonos town, the island’s capital (called Chora). For details regarding the transport, check here.

Other Greek islands with international airports in Greece

The described airports are not the only international airports on the Greek islands. Other Greek island airports with international flights are:

Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kefalonia on the Ionian Islands,

Skiathos on Sporades,

Island of Kos in Dodecanese (same group as Rhodos),

and Samos and Lesbos in the North Aegean Group.

If you want to visit more islands, remember to travel within the same group of islands and choose the airport that’s closest to the island you want to visit. Don’t fly to Corfu if you want to see Santorini.

Here you can find a more exact Greek island group description.

Airports in Greece: Greek Islands with Domestic Airports

More Greek islands have airports, but only domestic ones. It’s worth remembering this, as you can change in Athens and arrive on the island directly without taking a ferry.

Islands with domestic flights are, for example:

Naxos, Milos, Syros, and Paros on Cycladic (Paros is actually international, but there are not many flights at the moment),

Kalymnos, Astypalea, Karpathos, or Kastellorizo in Dodecanese,

Skyros on Sporades,

Kythira on the Ionian Islands,

Chios or Ikaria in the North Aegean Islands.

Greek airports: Summary

As you can see, you have many options to choose from for your journey. You will probably mostly look at Athens as your final destination or stopover and the islands airports.

Three airlines: Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air, and Sky Express conduct domestic destinations flights. If you travel from further destinations, look especially at Aegean Airlines.

Greek airports, particularly during the summer months, are very busy, so remember to have enough time and be prepared; it may not be the most easy and comfortable airport time. Anyway, it’s absolutely worth it.

Greece is an amazing destination; enjoy your holidays!

Organising your trip to Greece? Check out more useful information:

Great hotels on the Greek islands

Many useful tips if you are planning your trip to Greece

What to bring from Greece as a souvenir

Santorini information:

How to get to Santorini and move around

Where to stay in Santorini