Corfu International Airport "Ioannis Kapodistrias" ( el, Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Κέρκυρας "Ιωάννης Καποδίστριας") or Ioannis Kapodistrias (Capodistrias) International Airport is a government-owned airport on the Greek island of Corfu at

Kerkyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

, serving both scheduled and

charter flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

s from European cities. Air traffic peaks during the summer season, between April and October. The Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport, named after

Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: � ...

, a distinguished Corfiot diplomat and the first governor of Greece, is located around 2 kilometres south of Corfu Town, and half a kilometre north of

Pontikonisi Pontikonisi ( el, Ποντικονήσι, "Mouse Island") is a Greek islet near the island of Corfu. Its prominent feature is a Byzantine chapel of Pantokrator, dating from the 11th or 12th century. In Homer's ''The Odyssey'', Poseidon turns the ...

. A 2021 study found that Corfu International Airport was one of the top 20 most vulnerable airports to climate change caused sea level rise.

History

The airport was founded in 1937. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, it was used by German and Italian forces as a base for transport and fighter aircraft. During the war the runway length was 600 m. By the end of April 1949, the length had reached 800 m. A further extension to 1,260 m took place by the end of 1951 to meet the then larger aircraft needs. The next and last extension of the runway began in 1957 and was completed in 1959, with a length of 2,373m. The first commercial flight took place on 19 April 1949 from

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

operated by

TAE Greek National Airlines TAE National Greek Airlines ( el, Τεχνικαί Αεροπορικαί Εκμεταλλεύσεις—Εθνικαί Αεροπορικαί Γραμμαί, , literally ''Technical and Aeronautical Holdings—National Air Lines''), originally b ...

. On 2 September 1950, HELLAS also started flights to Corfu. In 1962, a small passenger terminal was built, which today accommodates the Corfu Aeroclub. In April 1965, the airport became International, with the inaugural overseas flight being operated by

Olympic Airlines Olympic Airlines ( el, Ολυμπιακές Αερογραμμές, ''Olympiakés Aerogrammés'' – OA), formerly named Olympic Airways for at least four decades, was the flag carrier airline of Greece. The airline's head office was located ...

. The construction of the new passenger terminal began in 1968 and was completed in 1972. In December 2015, the privatisation of Corfu International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement (as a joint venture) between

Fraport AG Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide,HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Corfu International Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.

Fraport Greece's investment plan

On 22 March 2017, Fraport Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including Corfu International Airport. Immediate actions that were implemented as soon as Fraport-Greece took over operations included a general clean-up of the airport, improving lighting and sanitary facilities and the markings of airside areas, as well as offering free WiFi and ensuring fire safety standards are met throughout the airport and surrounding property. The master plan also included changes which will be implemented under Fraport-Greece's investment plan prior to 2021. They include the remodeling and expansion of the current terminal as well as the construction of a new one. A Hold Baggage inline Screening System (HBS) will improve safety and efficiency, along with the refurbishment of the airport fire service, which will benefit from the reorganization of the airport apron area including the replacement of paving in this area. Also planned is the increase of the number of check-in desks from 22 to 28, and the number of departure gates to 12, as well as reorganisation of the security check lanes in the terminal.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Corfu Airport:

Traffic figures

The data are from the official website of the airport.

Traffic statistics by country (2021)

Ground transport

By car or taxi Corfu Airport is located 2.7 km from the city of Corfu and takes about 10 minutes. Bus services are provided between the airport and the city centre.

References

External links

* Official Corfu Airport website
Corfu Airport - Homepage
English/Greek * Pictures from Corfu Airport
from JetPhotos.ch
{{authority control Airports in Greece Buildings and structures in Corfu Ioannis Kapodistrias