Athens international airport

Athens International airport, also known as ‘Eleftherios Venizelos’ is named after a former Greek Prime minister. It began operation on 29th March 2001, and is the only civilian airport that serves the city of Athens. It sees more than 15 million travellers annually. No matter what the model of the car is, they are all bright yellow. They are easily found outside the airport by the arrivals exit. Every taxi operates on a 19hr day and drives roughly 350km per day. Double time is operated between midnight and 5am which should show with a number2 on the meter, otherwise a number 1 will show. It is wise to check this on entering the taxi if it is not a pre paid transfer.

The airport itself is situated between the towns Koropi, Markopoula, Sparta and Lousta, It is situated 30 km east of Athens city centre (40 km by road due to intervening hills) and takes approximately 30 minutes depending on traffic. The main airport has three levels, arrivals, departures and a food court which serves exquisite food from around the world. The food court offers a view of the eastern runway. The satellite terminal is accessed through an underground link with moving walkways and has 2 levels and is used as a Schengen facility.

The airport of Thessaloniki is also very popular, particular in the summer months because it serves a gateway to the whole region of northern Greece. Many other airports are scattered in Greek cities and islands. The smallest airports on the Greek mainland are located in Kalamata, Araxos (Patra), Volos (Nos anchialos) and Aktion(Preveza-Lefkada, these only operate during the summer months and receive only charter flights from abroad, not domestic flights.

Below is a list of Greek airports in cities and the on the Greek islands:
Athens; Heraklion; Ioannina; Kavala; Chania; Kos; Leros; Mykonos; Corfu; Lemnes; Lesvos; Paros; Milos; Rhodes; Samos; Kefalonia; Lassithi; Thessaloniki; Santorini; Zakynthos; Airlines: There are a vast amount of airlines that provide flights to Athens airport, in fact a total of 63. In addition to these, a handful of airlines offer cargo services offering businesses and individuals the opportunity to ship goods and packages from Athens and Greece to destinations all over the world. The world’s largest carrier, Delta airlines offers service between Athens, Rhodes, Kerkyra, thessaloniki and chania to name a few. The airline also offers direct flights between Athens, Greece and Larnaca, Cyprus, Paris, France, and Rome. In addition to this they offer connecting flights to and from Athens, Greece and 400 other destinations around the world.

Other popular airlines that fly to Athens include Ryanair, Aegean airlines, Turkish airlines, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Swiss, Austrian airlines, Air Berlin and France, British airways, Cyprus airways, Air china, Bulgaria air, KLM, Air Malta, Egypt air, Pegasus airlines, Qatar, Brussels airlines, Easy jet , Cathay Pacific airways, Jet2.com, Thomas cook airlines, Air America, Croatia airlines, Wizz air, Monarch airlines, Czech airlines, Luxair, air Serbia, Aer Lingus, Ukraine International airlines, and Norwegian Air Shuttle are to name but a few.

Travelling from the airport to Athens city centre could not be easier. Whether it’s by using one of the many public transport options, hailing a taxi, or hiring a private rental car. Taxi ranks are conveniently placed just outside the arrival exit of the airport and are easily accessible. Although the best and safest way is have a pre booked taxi waiting for you. This way you avoid any cowboy taxi drivers or scams. You will also have a set price.

Using the express bus to the centre is about 30km and to the port Piraeus it is 45km. The journey takes about an hour. This of course will only take you to a certain point in the city centre so check to see how far your accommodation is from where the bus stops. These buses run 24 hrs a day and are very frequent, air conditioned and comfortable. The buses leave from the arrivals level just outside the intra schengen area. It is bus number X95 and it takes you to the south side of Syntagma square. Other buses are available to other Athens locations. Travelling to Syntagma by metro is a much smoother and quicker journey; it takes 30 minutes and 60 minutes to port Piraeus. Again this is fully air conditioned, and these run frequently for the ease of all travellers no matter what time they arrive in Athens.

Hiring a car from the airport. As you can imagine there are a lot of car hire companies available to the traveller. This will be a case of searching for the right one for you. But, of course it does give you the peace of mind of knowing that you have transport waiting for you directly from your flight. You can hire a car in Athens and drop it off in another city, but check with car supplier that they provide this service as some don’t. However you decide to travel to and from Athens International airport be sure to enjoy the amazing scenery Athens has to offer.