Samos International Airport "Aristarchos of Samos" is an airport on Samos Island, Greece.
The airport is named after Aristarchos of Samos, an ancient astronomer and mathematician, and lies within from the nearby town of Pythagorio. The airport has a single short runway. The airport's surroundings leave little room for error or mistake on the behalf of the pilots – with nearby mountains and sea at the end of the short runway. In summer there are often strong Meltemi winds from the north, which further contribute to the difficulty of the landing.
There is one terminal building. There are six boarding gates, none of which have jet-bridges. Passenger facilities are split across two floors and include a duty-free shop and a small café.
History The airport first operated in May 1976. In the late 1990s/early 2000s, the terminal was renovated: the capacity of the airport was increased to deal with increasing passenger numbers.
In December 2015, the privatisation of Samos International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement between the Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture and the state privatisation fund. "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Samos International Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.
Future investment On 22 March 2017, Fraport Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including the International Airport of Samos.
The following summarizes the enhancement changes that will be started in October 2017 and will be implemented for Samos International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan until 2021:
General clean-up Improving lighting, marking of airside areas. Upgrading sanitary facilities Enhancing services and offering a new free Internet connection (WiFi) Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airport Expanding and remodeling the current terminal New fire station Reorganizing the airport apron area 19 percent increase in the total size of the terminal at 9,605 m2 40 percent increase in the number of check-in counters (from 10 to 14) 25 percent increase in the number of departure gates (from 4 to 5) 50 percent increase in the number of security lanes (from 2 to 3) In January 2021, Fraport Greece concluded the last of the construction works for the 14 airports – well ahead of the April 2021 contractual deadline.
On 9 October 2024, Fraport Greece announced it would proceed with the third phase of runway construction at nine regional airports in Greece, including the International Airport of Samos. For the construction Samos Airport was to be closed from 5 November 2024 to 25 November 2024.
On 21 July 2025, Fraport Greece announced it would proceed with the forth phase of runway construction at eight regional airports in Greece, including the International Airport of Samos. For the construction Samos Airport is scheduled to be closed for 24hrs every Wednesday, 00:01 - 23:59 (local time), from 18 November 2025 to 24 March 2026, with 23, 24 and 31 December 2025, as well as 6 and 7 January 2026, being exempted.
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Samos Airport:
Statistics The data are from Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) until 2016, and data from 2017 and later are from the official website of the airport. YearPassengers Domestic International Total1994121,370296,640418,0101995 132,269 282,192 414,4611996 141,864 264,430 406,2941997 149,564 263,334 412,8981998 146,056 277,498 423,5541999 189,132 314,704 503,8362000 180,446 287,948 468,3942001 154,004 304,686 458,6902002 141,362 283,488 424,8502003 142,212 266,835 409,0472004 153,067 240,562 393,6292005 155,534 236,593 392,1272006 190,879 260,039 450,9182007 216,605 265,382 481,9872008 204,873 266,993 471,8662009 216,174 230,968 447,1422010 193,530 217,035 410,5652011 172,672 236,048 408,7202012 149,664 214,984 364,6482013 136,641 207,076 343,7172014 151,107 245,201 396,3082015 149,302 253,848 403,1502016 153,240 193,540 346,7802017 161,313 248,972 410,3312018 159,763 290,128 449,891 2019 168,892 298,503 467,3952020 100,669 43,630 144,2992021 131,580 138,718 270,2982022 174,647 278,617 453,2642023 193,356 283,950 477,3062024 192,817 295,377 488,1942025 210,689 285,728 496,417 Traffic statistics by country (2022) +Traffic by country at Samos International Airport – 2022 Place Country Total passengers 1 Greece 174,647 2 Netherlands 65,079 3 Germany 59,112 4 Sweden 27,007 5 Denmark 23,656 6 Poland 17,803 7 Belgium 14,944 8 Italy 13,488 9 Norway 13,011 10 Czech Republic 11,849 11 Finland 7,715 12 Slovenia 7,625 13 United Kingdom 6,827 14 Switzerland 4,282 15 Austria 3,599
Accidents and incidents On 3 August 1989, Olympic Aviation Flight 545 crashed into Mount Kerkis while on approach to Samos Airport. All 31 passengers and all three crew members died in the accident.
See also Transport in Greece
References
External links Samos Island International Airport "Aristarchos of Samos" at greekairports.gr