A list of the Greek islands with airports, and which islands in Greece you can fly to on international and domestic flights.
Which islands can you fly to in Greece? Which Greek islands have international airports?
Flying to the Greek Islands
If you're organizing your own vacation to Greece, you'll soon come to realize that travel around the country is not completely straightforward.
It's the geography of Greece which makes life difficult. There's over 200 inhabited islands belonging to Greece scattered across the Aegean and Ionian Seas, and working out how to get to them can be a lesson in patience!
Island hopping on the ferry network is the popular way to get around, but some Greek islands do have airports.
In this guide, I'll give you an overview of which Greek islands have airports, along with other information about flying to the islands of Greece.
List of Greek islands with International Airports
These are the islands in Greece that have international airports. You should note that although they may be classed as international airports, some may only connect with one or two other destinations in Europe, and only at certain times of year.
The islands of Greece with international airports are:
- Crete – Chania International Airport (IATA: CHQ, ICAO: LGSA
- Crete – Heraklion International Airport (IATA: HER, ICAO: LGIR)
- Crete – Sitia Airport (IATA: JSH, ICAO: LGST)
- Corfu – Corfu International Airports (IATA: CFU, ICAO: LGKR)
- Karpathos – Karpathos Island National Airport (IATA: AOK, ICAO: LGKP)
- Kefalonia – Kefalonia International Airport (IATA: EFL, ICAO: LGKF)
- Kos – Kos International Airport (IATA: KGS, ICAO: LGKO)
- Lemnos – Lemnos International Airport (IATA: LXS, ICAO: LGLM)
- Lesbos – Mytilene International Airport (IATA: MJT, ICAO: LGMT)
- Mykonos – Mykonos Airport (IATA: JMK, ICAO: LGMK)
- Paros – New Paros Airport (IATA: PAS, ICAO: LGPA)
- Rhodes – Rhodes International Airport (IATA: RHO, ICAO: LGRP)
- Santorini – Santorini (Thira) International Airport (IATA: JTR, ICAO: LGSR)
- Samos – Samos International Airport (IATA: SMI, ICAO: LGSM)
- Skiathos – Skiathos International Airport (IATA: JSI, ICAO: LGSK)
- Zakynthos – Zakynthos International Airport (IATA: ZTH, ICAO: LGZA)
List Greek Islands With National Airports
The airports listed above take both international and domestic flights. Below here, is a list of national airports on the islands of Greece that accept domestic flights only.
Again, some of these airports may only operate seasonally, and with only one carrier.
These airports on Greek islands normally have connections with Athens and/or Thessaloniki, as well as on occasion with some other islands.
The Greek island airports which only accept National flights are:
- Astypalaia – Astypalaia Island National Airport (IATA: JTY, ICAO: LGPL)
- Chios – Chios Island National Airport (IATA: JKH, ICAO: LGHI)
- Ikaria – Ikaria Island National Airport (IATA: JIK, ICAO: LGIK)
- Kalymnos – Kalymnos Island National Airport (IATA: JKL, ICAO: LGKY)
- Kasos – Kasos Island Public Airport (IATA: KSJ, ICAO: LGKS)
- Kastellorizo: Kastellorizo Island Public Airport (IATA: KZS, ICAO: LGKJ)
- Leros – Leros Municipal Airport (IATA: LRS, ICAO: LGLE)
- Kythira – Kithira Island National Airport (IATA: KIT, ICAO: LGKC)
- Milos – Milos Island National Airport (IATA: MLO, ICAO: LGML)
- Naxos – Naxos Island National Airport (IATA: JNX, ICAO: LGNX)
- Skyros – Skyros Island National Airport (IATA: SKU, ICAO: LGSY)
- Syros – Syros Island National Airport (IATA: JSY, ICAO: LGSO)
Airports in Crete
Crete is the largest Greek island, and as you might expect accepts both domestic and international flights. Chania and Heraklion are the two main airports in Crete.
Chania International Airport: Connections to mainly European destinations, as well as domestic flights.
Heraklion International Airport: The main airport in Crete, and the second busiest airport in Greece after Athens International.
Sitia Airport: The eastern-most airport in Crete. Technically, this could class as an international airport as there are sporadic connections with Scandinavian airports on charter flights in some years.
Airports in the Cyclades Islands of Greece
Flying into the Cyclades islands is a good way to begin an island hopping adventure in this popular island chain. Both Santorini and Mykonos have a lot of choice when it comes to international flights as well as connections with Athens and Thessaloniki.
The Cyclades islands with airports are:
Milos Airport: The Greek airlines Olympic Air and Sky Express operate flight to Milos from Athens.
Mykonos Airport: Connecting with European destinations as well as other cities in Greece.
Naxos Airport: Considering that Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades, it's perhaps surprising that it only has a small national airport with connections to Athens.
Paros Airport: Now accepting seasonal charter flights from some European destinations, Paros airport also has regular connections with Athens.
Santorini Airport: This airport is really too small for the volume of international and domestic flights it receives!
Syros Airport: Syros may be the capital of the Cyclades, but its single runway accepts only smaller planes mainly from Athens.
You might also want to read – How to get from Athens to the Cyclades islands.
Airports in the Ionian Islands of Greece
Located off the western coastline of mainland Greece, the Ionian islands are a popular holiday destination with Europeans. With international flights connecting Corfu and Zakynthos with key European cities, they are also package tour destinations.
Corfu: A popular holiday destination, especially with Brits, there's international and national flights to Corfu all the year around.
Kefalonia: Kefalonia International Airport (Anna Pollatou) with domestic and international connections.
Kythira: Although classed as an Ionian island, you wouldn't think so if you looked at the map! Connections with Athens.
Zakynthos: With connections to many European cities, Zakynthos or Zante as it is also known is a popular holiday destination during the summer.
Airports in the Dodecanese Islands of Greece
Astypalaia: There are limited flight options, with Sky Express flying to Athens, Kalymnos, Kos, Leros, and Rhodes.
Kalymnos: Sky Express fly from Kalymnos to Astypalaia, Athens, Kos, Leros, and Rhodes.
Karpathos: Some international flight during the summer and autumn.
Kasos: Sky Express operate services flying from Kasos to Rhodes and Karpathos.
Kastellorizo: Olympic Air fly in and out of Kastellorizo Island Public Airport on small planes.
Kos: During the summer there are charter flights connecting some European cities with Kos. Also flight from Athens to Kos on a regular basis.
Leros: The airlines Olympic Air and Sky Express operate flights to Leros from Athens, Astypalaia, Kalymnos, Kos, and Rhodes.
Rhodes: For international travelers, Rhodes is a good entry point into the Dodecanese. Plenty of domestic and international flights to this important island.
Airports in the Sporades Islands
Skiathos: Some seasonal and charter international flights go to Skiathos International Airport, as well as domestic flights to Athens and Thessaloniki.
Skyros: Olympic Air fly to Athens, and Sky Express have flights to Thessaloniki.
Airports in the North Aegean Greek Islands
The islands of the North Aegean do not fall under a specifically identifiable chain such as the Cyclades. Instead, they are a collection of islands that are grouped together for administrative purposes.
Chios: One of the lesser known islands, Chios has flights to the following destinations in Greece – Athens, Thessaloniki, Lemnos, Mytilene, Rhodes, Samos, and Thessaloniki.
Ikaria: One of five designated places in the world where people live the longest, you can reach Ikaria by plane from Athens, Lemnos, and Thessaloniki.
Lesbos: International flight connections with many European destinations, as well as national flights to Athens, Chios, Lemnos, Rhodes, Samos, and Thessaloniki.
Lemnos: Seasonal charter flights arrive in Lemnos from Ljubljana and London-Gatwick. Olympic Air and Sky Express connect Lemnos with Athens, Ikaria, Thessaloniki, Chios, Mytilene, Rhodes, and Samos.
Samos: The birthplace of Pythagoras, Samos has lots of international and domestic flights.
– Dave Briggs
Dave is a travel writer originally from the UK and now living in Greece. He started this travel blog in 2005, and over the years has written hundreds of travel guides about Greece and the Greek islands. He has a somewhat ambitious (perhaps impossible) goal of visiting every Greek island and writing about it.
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