Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport is an airport on the island of Skiathos, Greece. Its runway is able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757-200. The runway is characterised as 'short and narrow'. Because of the uneven terrain on the island of Skiathos, Skiathos Airport was created by reclaiming land from the sea between Skiathos island and the smaller island of Lazareta (a former leper colony) effectively joining the two islands into one larger island, though it was built on land already part of Skiathos. The location was chosen by a mechanic who lived in Volos. The airport is named after Alexandros Papadiamantis, a Greek novelist and native of the island.
The airport's short runway and its proximity to an adjacent public road have made it a popular destination for planespotters. It is often compared to Princess Juliana International Airport on Saint Maarten since both airports offer the public an ability to legally experience landing approaches and takeoffs at very close range.
History The airport first operated in 1972.
A passenger terminal and a new control tower was constructed in . In the terminal was closed down after a minor earthquake, and a new passenger terminal opened in 2002, to better accommodate the growing number of passengers.
From 2019, as part of the Fraport construction works the airport has 2 current terminals. Terminal 1 was reconstructed and is currently the Domestic Terminal, and Terminal 2 is for international arrivals.
Skiathos Airport has no jetways, meaning, prior to the 2016 work, passengers walked the short distance from the aircraft to the terminal building. Now, buses drive passengers the short distance.
In 2014 the runway was extended by on the north side of the airport. In 2016 an extension was added to the ramp for 6 airliner parking stands, along with an additional taxiway. The previous two parking stands are now used for smaller aircraft.
The island has only two roundabouts, one at the airport and one just outside of the Skiathos Town, operational in 2023. Its only set of traffic lights is at the southern end of the runway in an attempt to prevent jet blast accidents.
In December 2015, the privatization of Skiathos Island National 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 privatization fund. "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatization agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Skiathos Island National Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.
Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Skiathos Airport:
Statistics The data taken from the official website of the airport.
YearPassengersDomesticInternationalTotal2009 16,470 218,601 235,0712010 16,880 213,609 230,4892011 20,473 226,185 246,6582012 18,465 236,440 254,9052013 25,216 240,557 265,7732014 32,097 283,300 315,3972015 34,560 318,523 353,0832016 44,174 350,827 395,0012017 43,740 380,366 424,1062018 48,228 389,688 437,9162019 55,535 390,684 446,2192020 19,541 69,375 88,9162021 34,666 171,341 206,0072022 49,775 461,836 511,6112023 58,821 494,023 552,8442024 58,375 542,411 600,7862025 65,501 573,741 639,242
Traffic statistics by country (2024) +Traffic by country at Skiathos International Airport – 2024 Place Country Total passengers 1 United Kingdom 243,171 2 Italy 99,464 3 Greece 58,375 4 Austria 30,714 5 Sweden 27,597 6 Germany 26,338 7 Romania 21,284 8 Denmark 14,488 9 Norway 13,522 10 Czech Republic 13,237 11 Hungary 11,124 12 Serbia 10,670 13 France 8,792 14 Netherlands 6,404 15 Cyprus 6,310
Ground transport
Skiathos Airport is located 4.5 km from the city of Skiathos and is accessible either from Skiathos ringroad or the coast road. The journey to and from the city centre takes about 10–15 minutes, depending on traffic. 24/7 metered taxi service is available outside the Skiathos Airport Terminal building.
See also List of airports in Greece
References
External links Skiathos Island International Airport "Alexandros Papadiamantis" at greekairports.gr