Zakynthos International Airport "

Dionysios Solomos Dionysios Solomos (; el, Διονύσιος Σολωμός ; 8 April 1798 – 9 February 1857) was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the ''Hymn to Liberty'' ( el, Ὕμ� ...

" is an airport in

Zakynthos Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

, Greece.

History

In December 2015, the privatization of Zakynthos International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalized with the signing of the agreement between the

Fraport AG Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,HRADF The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund S.A. (HRADF; el, Ταμείο Αξιοποίησης Ιδιωτικής Περιουσίας του Δημοσίου, ''Tameio Axiopoiisis Idiotikis Periousias tou Dimosiou'') or TAIPED ( el, ΤΑΙΠ ...

, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Zakynthos International Airport) for 40 years from 11 April 2017. The airport is close to the town and beach of Kalamaki. Kalamaki beach is part of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos. The endangered loggerhead sea turtles (''

Caretta caretta The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

'') lay their eggs at the beaches of the marine park at night during the summer months. This has resulted in aircraft movement restrictions. Flights are not permitted to take off or land between 10:00PM to 5:00AM. It is at the jurisdiction of the Greek authorities to allow aircraft movements at night under extenuating circumstances. The airport opened in 1972. An expansion of the airport's apron area to 35,100 m² was completed in 2003, and a new 22,150 m² terminal building was completed in 2008. The airport is 4.3 km from

town and other seaside tourist destinations such as

Laganas Laganas ( el, Λαγανάς) is a village and a former municipality on the island of Zakynthos, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Zakynthos, of which it is a municipal unit. The munic ...

, Tsilivi and Kalamaki. The main approach into the airport is Runway 34. Aircraft usually have to fly over

bay and make a 180-degree turn, before their final approach over sunbathing tourists on the busy Kalamaki beach.

Fraport Greece's investment plan

On 22 March 2017, Fraport Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports, including the Zakynthos International Airport. Immediate actions that were implemented at airports operated by Fraport Greece, before the launch of the 2017 summer season, included: * 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 airports Specifically for Zakynthos International Airport, the following changes were implemented under Fraport Greece's investment plan: * Refurbishing and remodeling current terminal * HBS inline screening * Refurbishing air traffic control tower * New fire station * Relocating power transformers and generators * Reorganizing airport apron area * Refurbishing airside pavement * Reorganizing landside roads & parking * New security guardhouse * 33 percent increase in check-in counters (from 15 to 20) * 150 percent increase in the number of security-check lanes (from 2 to 5)