{"id":1278,"date":"2026-02-01T18:03:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T18:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/?p=1278"},"modified":"2026-02-01T18:20:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T18:20:14","slug":"new-heraklion-airport-is-set-to-begin-operations-in-2028-prime-minister-kyriakos-mitsotakis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/2026\/02\/01\/new-heraklion-airport-is-set-to-begin-operations-in-2028-prime-minister-kyriakos-mitsotakis\/","title":{"rendered":"New Heraklion Airport is set to begin operations in 2028, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the construction site of the new Heraklion International Airport in Kasteli, Crete, on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing the project as one of the largest development initiatives underway in Greece, Mitsotakis said the airport is set to become \u201cthe most modern in the Mediterranean\u201d and is scheduled to begin operations in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCrete is changing. It is rapidly moving into the third decade of the 21st century, addressing long-standing issues of the past and being safeguarded by infrastructure projects that will provide unprecedented growth and momentum,\u201d the prime minister said. He emphasized that the new investments respond to critical infrastructure needs that the island has faced for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitsotakis noted that the new international airport will handle more than twice the number of flights currently served by Heraklion\u2019s Nikos Kazantzakis Airport, adding that redeveloping the existing airport site will also bring significant benefits to the city of Heraklion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Dimas said construction of the airport is now 67% complete and confirmed that the facility is expected to be fully operational in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in the day, Mitsotakis is scheduled to meet with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovi\u0107 in Zagreb at 15:45 (Athens time), before taking part in the two-day meeting of European People\u2019s Party leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Major Airports in Greece & Their Locations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

1. Athens International Airport (ATH)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Spata, Attica<\/em>
Greece\u2019s largest airport and main international hub, serving Athens and mainland Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Thessaloniki International Airport \u201cMacedonia\u201d (SKG)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia<\/em>
The primary airport for northern Greece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Heraklion International Airport \u201cNikos Kazantzakis\u201d (HER)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Heraklion, Crete<\/em>
One of the busiest airports in Greece, especially during summer.
(To be replaced by the new Kasteli\/Iraklio Airport in coming years.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Chania International Airport (CHQ)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Chania, Crete<\/em>
Serves western Crete and is a major tourist gateway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Rhodes International Airport \u201cDiagoras\u201d (RHO)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Rhodes Island, South Aegean<\/em>
A key airport for the Dodecanese islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Corfu International Airport \u201cIoannis Kapodistrias\u201d (CFU)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Corfu Island, Ionian Sea<\/em>
Very popular with European travelers during peak seasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Kos International Airport \u201cHippocrates\u201d (KGS)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Kos Island, South Aegean<\/em>
Serves Kos and nearby islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. Santorini (Thira) International Airport (JTR)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Santorini, Cyclades<\/em>
A major entry point for one of Greece\u2019s top tourist destinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. Mykonos International Airport (JMK)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Mykonos, Cyclades<\/em>
Well known for luxury tourism and nightlife travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. Zakynthos International Airport \u201cDionysios Solomos\u201d (ZTH)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Zakynthos Island, Ionian Sea<\/em>
Serves one of Greece\u2019s most visited Ionian islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. Kefalonia International Airport (EFL)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Kefalonia Island, Ionian Sea<\/em>
Key airport for western Greece tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. Kalamata International Airport (KLX)<\/strong>
\ud83d\udccd Kalamata, Peloponnese<\/em>
Growing in importance due to tourism and regional development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: Thenationalherald<\/strong><\/a> Edited by Bernie<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the construction site of the new Heraklion International Airport in Kasteli, Crete, on Friday. Describing the project as one of the largest development initiatives underway in Greece, Mitsotakis said the airport is set to become \u201cthe most modern in the Mediterranean\u201d and is scheduled to begin operations in 2028. \u201cCrete […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74,301],"tags":[323,38,10,8,322],"class_list":["post-1278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-greece","category-news","tag-airportconstruction","tag-crete","tag-greece","tag-greek","tag-heraklionairport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1283,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1278\/revisions\/1283"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekbot.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}