ARRIVAL AT CRETE · PRESENT, HISTORY AND FUTURE

The airports of Crete

Τα αεροδρόμια της Κρήτης

Heraklion, Chania and Sitia, the new airport at Kastelli and the fields that tell the aviation history of the island.

Three passenger airports, different roles

If you fly to Crete, you will be able to choose between Heraklion, Chania and Sitia. The first two are the major international gateways; Sitia is the smaller airport for the east. In addition, there are military and historical airports on the island. Those names may appear on maps, but are not an extra choice of arrival in a normal holiday booking.

The new international airport at Kastelli is a separate construction project to replace the current Heraklion airport. The name Kastelli is also used for the existing military base in the same environment. We keep these two functions apart in this chapter.

This overview covers the three civil airports, the new project, Kastelli as a military location, Maleme, Tympaki and the historic airport of Rethymno. Helicopter platforms and temporary landing sites do not constitute additional passenger airports in this census.

Names and codes · this is how you read a booking

Airport	IATA / ICAO	Region	Role in this guide
Heraklion · Nikos Kazantzakis	HER / LGIR	Heraklion	In use for passengers
Chania · Ioannis Daskalogiannis	CHQ / LGSA	Chania · Akrotiri	In use for passengers
Sitia · Vitsentzos Kornaros	JSH / LGST	Lasithi	In use for passengers
New Heraklion · Kastelli	No booking code assigned in this guide	Heraklion · inland	Under construction; no passenger arrival yet

The three-letter IATA code is the one you usually see when you book a ticket and baggage label. The four-letter ICAO code is mainly used in aviation. A city name can be spelled otherwise: Heraklion, Iraqlio and Iraklion refer to the same city in this context. Chania also appears as Hania or Khania. Look for code, date and airport on your ticket for your trip.

Source 11 . . . .

The code LGTL belongs to the existing military Kastelli. We do not present it as a confirmed future civil airport code. A shared place name or building card is not enough to put a travel document or rental car booking in the right location.

Heraklion · Nikos Kazantzakis

The current Heraklion airport is located directly on the north coast, about five kilometers from the city centre according to the airline service. The name refers to writer Nikos Kazantzakis. The location makes the transition from arrival to city short; for a stay elsewhere in Crete the ride across the island remains an important part of the trip.

Heraklion is geographically a logical gateway for central Crete and for many trips to Agios Nikolaos, Ierapetra and the East. This is a editorial route choice, no guarantee that this airport will provide the shortest or cheapest solution for each address. Compare flight hours, transfer and the full journey to your stay.

The official airport description mentions the company throughout the whole day. That does not mean that every service provider, desk or rental car issue has the same opening times at any time. At a late arrival, record the transfer and address and check whether you need a desk in the terminal or a shuttle to an external office.Source

For the return trip, you will look at the actual destination of your rental car and the instructions of the airline. An airport close to the city is no reason to underestimate the last mileage or the time of completion. Use the name on your ticket for the destination, as long as the move to Kastelli has not actually taken place.

Current airport Heraklion on our map →

Chania · Ioannis Daskalogiannis

Chania Airport is located on the Akrotiri peninsula. For a stay in the region of Chania, the west coast or a departure to the western mountain regions, it is an important gateway. The name Daskalogiannis refers to the famous Sfakian rebel leader. The airport is not a city centre location: take the ride to and from Akrotiri in your comparison.

The official website of Fraport provides information about arrival and departure, bus connection, taxi, parking, car rentals and travel with reduced mobility. Use these pages for the current establishment and services. The airport and terminal are listed as open daily; for the execution of a specific flight, the company remains the point of contact.Source 2

The names Chania Airport and Souda can be found alongside each other in airline texts. The military context around Souda/Akrotiri is not a second civil airport where you can book a holiday flight without further indication. As traveler CHQ and the passenger terminal, follow.

For a stay around Rethymno, both Chania and Heraklion can be useful. Make the choice based on your final address and travel times on your day. A cheaper ticket can become less attractive when the arrival falls much later or requires a long transfer.

Chania Airport on our map →

Sitia · Vitsentzos Kornaros

Sitia offers East Kreta its own gateway. It is located on the hill near the city and bears the name Vitsentzos Kornaros, the poet of the Erotokritos. It is smaller than Heraklion and Chania; that says something about its role in the network, not about its value for those who should be in the east.

The airline service describes three major development moments: the first opening in 1984, the new runway in 2002 and the move to the new terminal in July 2015. This makes Sitia not a new project of the same kind as Kastelli, but an existing airport that has been expanded in phases.Source 3 . . . .

For a trip to Sitia, Palekastro or the eastern coast, an appropriate flight can save a lot of travel time on the road. Please check the current offer, any stopover or transfer and availability on your date. This guide does not contain a fixed list of routes that would apply throughout the year.

At a smaller airport, pay extra attention to matching: when does the desk open for your flight, where do you meet the landlord and how do you arrange transport in case of delay? The official description refers to aviation publications and variable arrangements. We therefore do not take over a fixed daily opening time in this guide.

Sitia Airport on our map →

Kastelli · the new gateway under construction

The new Heraklion International Airport is located in the interior of Kastelli Pediados. The project changes the geography of arrival: the current airport is located directly near the city on the coast, while the new airport gets its own connection to the road network and other transfer distances. As a result, Heraklion Airport is not necessarily the same place on the map.

The concessionaire describes a terminal of approximately 93.000 m2, a runway of 3.2 km and a designed terminal capacity of about 15 million passengers per year, which are project characteristics and design capacities, not numbers that are currently being processed.Source 4

The project page shows a progress value of 73.9% on 22 October 2026. This value does not show a separate date of measurement on the page consulted. We therefore treat it as a project report found on that day, not as an exact re-measured percentage of today.Source 5 . . .

An airport is more than terminal and runway. Navigation, traffic control, security, fire department, ground handling, access roads and operational tests must operate together before passenger flights can start. A visibly completed building is not the same as an open airport.

Surroundings of the new airport at Kastelli →

When does Kastelli open?

Source 4

In reports about large construction projects, delivery, testing, certification and commercial commissioning often run in a mixed manner. Always read a mentioned year with the corresponding milestone. Check the airport and society again when you book a trip close to an announced move.

For the time being, for a regular booking, the airport will continue to lead on the ticket issued. Do not book a transfer to the building site because a search result calls "new Heraklion Airport' . In case of an actual move, also rental car, hotel transfer and route planning must be connected to the right terminal. This text is a dated guide and is not automatically updated by the project organisation.

Papua · modern infrastructure meets Minoan heritage

In the development of the new airport, a special Minoan monument was discovered on the hill of Papua. In July 2025, the Minister of Culture described the balance between the protection of the monument and the need for aviation facilities. It shows how a large infrastructure project in Crete can simultaneously trigger archaeological research.

The find deserves its own historical reading: what is really excavated, what function is investigated and what remains uncertain? A circular building cannot be called a mythical labyrinth without proof. Nor does a construction dispute itself tell what the original function was.

An entry in this chapter does not confirm an open visitor area on the building site or hill. Read us for the wider cultural historical context guide on Minoan Crete.Source 6 . . . .

Military and historical fields

Kastelli, the existing military location. The military base at Kastelli must be distinguished from the new civil airport. The Hellenic Air Force has its own public unit page for the 133 Combat Group. This guide describes the geographical and historical context, without proposing military facilities as an arrival option for tourists.Source 7 . .

Maleme, west of Chania. The airport played an important role during the Battle of Crete in 1941. There is a historical memorial and exhibition area of the Air Force. The published visit information mentions prior contact and approval; so don't treat it as an area you walk on without an appointment. It is not an alternative to CHQ in a holiday flight booking.Source 8 . . .

Tympaki, on the south coast of Heraklion. This airport has a military context; the Air Force publishes information about its facility at Tympaki. An airstrip on a map and a historic airport name do not mean that there is a public terminal with scheduled flights. For travel to the Messara plain you compare the civil airports and the further ride.Source 9 . .

Rethymno / Retimo, the historical field. Retimo appears in sources about 1941 as an airport. Australian War Memorial documents its defence in May of that year. That historical field is not today's fourth commercial airport of Crete. Who travels to Rethymno usually compares arrivals via Chania and Heraklion.Source 10 . . .

There is also a military history around existing airports. Heraklion's Air Force history starts at the airport before World War II and describes the later organisation. However, a historical squadron or a former component is not a reliable indication of the current passenger offer.Source 12 . .

Which airport will suit your journey?

For Western Crete you start the comparison at Chania; for Central Crete near Heraklion; for the far east you take Sitia with you if the flight offer fits. For Rethymno it pays to compare both major airports. For the south coast, the chosen final address determines which route is practical. These are geographical fist rules, not ranking of the quality of airports.

Compare the whole trip: departure time at home, direct flight or transfer, arrival time, luggage, rental car and ride to the accommodation. Also check out the return trip. A quiet first afternoon can be worth more than a small price difference leading to a late arrival and a long ride.

For Kastelli, this comparison changes once the new airport is actually put into operation. Existing route descriptions from the current coastal airport may be outdated. Therefore, do not save an old airport address as an automatic departure point for all future trips.

Compare the location on our own Crete map →

Preparing for arrival and departure

Check the airport on your ticket and pass on the same code to your landlord or transfer company. Note flight number, contact point and meeting place. If delayed, an agreed procedure is more useful than just a telephone number you are only trying to find after landing.

Before departure, follow the instructions and deadlines of your company and airport. Check-in, baggage drop-off, security check-out and gate closure are separate steps. A flight time is not the time to arrive at the airport.

You travel with limited mobility, arrange advance support via the airline and check the airport information. Please also report what you need for the transfer and rental car. This makes the chain between plane, terminal and stay clearer.

For current timetables, baggage rules, rates and notifications, please use the official service providers. This guide explains the landscape and choices; it is not a live departure sign. the islands guide when you want to plan a boat trip after arrival and take sufficient margin between sea and air connections.

Sources & Accountability

Composed and controlled on 22 October 2026. Airport data comes from official aviation, airport and government sources. Operational details can change. The geographical dial is editorial; no current flight prices, guaranteed routes or fixed driving times are included. The typographical opening silllustration is not a picture or construction drawing of a terminal.