Kalamata International Airport ( el, Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Καλαμάτας) "Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos" is an airport in the city of

Kalamata Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...

, Greece. It mainly receives flights during the summer. In March 2013,

Aegean Airlines Aegean Airlines S.A. ( el, Αερογραμμές Αιγαίου Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία ''Aeroporía Aigaíou Anónimi Etairía'', ) is the flag carrier airline of Greece and the largest Greek airline by total number of passengers carri ...

opened a base in the airport.

Overview

The airport is located between

and

Messini Messini ( el, Μεσσήνη, before 1867: Νησί ''Nisi'') is a municipal unit (''dimotiki enotita'') and the seat town (''edra'') of the municipality (''dimos'') of Messini within the regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') of Messenia in th ...

on GR-82 (Pylos – Kalamata – Sparta) and west of the train tracks on the Pamisos River plain. The runway is about 2.7 km long and runs from north to south from the highway north to the plain. The terminal lies to the east and is accessed with GR-7/ E55/ E65 (Kalamata – Tripoli – Corinth). There is a military base of the

Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...

and an air-training department to the west of the runway. The air base uses the same runway as civilian aircraft.

History

Kalamata International Airport was opened in 1959. Charter flights began to operate out of the airport in 1986 and a new terminal was built in 1991. The same year Hellenic Civil Aviation took over as operator of the airport. In 2012 the airport was renamed after Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos.

Airlines and destinations

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

Statistics

Accidents and incidents

*On 16 October 1971, an

NAMC YS-11 The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of t ...

turboprop regional airliner of

Olympic Airways 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 ...

was hijacked. It had departed from Kalamata International Airport to

Hellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'' ( el, Ελληνικόν), was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. It was replaced on 28 March 2001 by the new Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios ...

. There was one hijacker, who demanded to be taken to Lebanon. All 64 passengers and crew survived after the aircraft was stormed and the hijacker arrested. The hijacking lasted less than a day. *In November 2001, fourteen

plane spotter Aircraft spotting, or plane spotting is a hobby of tracking the movement of aircraft, which is often accomplished by photography. Besides monitoring aircraft, plane spotting enthusiasts (who are usually called plane spotters) also record informa ...

s (twelve British and two Dutch) were arrested by the police after being observed photographing aircraft at the air base.

Ground Transport

The airport has been criticised for the lack of public transport. The only way to reach the airport is by car, taxi or bus.http://www.hcaa.gr/en/our-airports/kratikos-aerolimenas-kalamatas-kapetan-bas-kwnstantakopoylos-kakl , Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority - Our Airports - Kalamata Airport "Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos" The neighboring railway line to Messini and Kalamata was shut down in 2011.

References

External links

Kalamata International Airport (KLX)
{{authority control Kalamata Airports in Greece Buildings and structures in Messenia Transport infrastructure in Peloponnese (region)