Heraklion International Nikos Kazantzakis Airport Guide

Heraklion International Airport sits 5 km east of the Cretan capital, within the municipality of Nea Alikarnassos. It is Greece's second busiest airport after Athens, handling 9.4 million passengers in 2024 — a 42% rise on the previous year. The airport operates from a single terminal building extended in 2018 and has two runways.

The airport serves as the primary gateway to Crete for European holiday traffic. Aegean Airlines dominates scheduled domestic services, while Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Jet2, and TUI Airways operate high-volume seasonal routes connecting Crete to destinations across the UK, Germany, France, Poland, and beyond. More than 60 airlines used the airport in 2024.

Owned and managed by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), the airport is scheduled to close when the new Kasteli International Airport opens east of the city, currently projected for 2027. Until then, HER remains the sole commercial airport serving central and eastern Crete.