Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis Airport is an airport on the island of

Skiathos Skiathos ( el, Σκιάθος, , ; grc, Σκίαθος, ; and ) is a small Greek island in the northwest Aegean Sea. Skiathos is the westernmost island in the Northern Sporades group, east of the Pelion peninsula in Magnesia on the mainland ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. Its 5,341-foot(1628 meters) runway is able to accommodate aircraft up to the size of a

Boeing 767-200 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified on ...

. The runway is characterised as 'short and narrow'. Because of the uneven terrain on the island of Skiathos, Skiathos Airport was created by reclaiming land from the sea between Skiathos island and the smaller island of Lazareta (a former leper colony) effectively joining the two islands into one larger island, though it was however built on land already part of Skiathos. The place was chosen by a mechanic who lived in Volos. The airport is named after

Alexandros Papadiamantis Alexandros Papadiamantis ( el, Ἀλέξανδρος Παπαδιαμάντης; 4 March 1851 – 3 January 1911) was an influential Greek novelist, short-story writer and poet. Biography Papadiamantis was born in Greece, on the island of Skiatho ...

, a Greek novelist and native of the island. The airport's short runway and its proximity to an adjacent public road have made it a popular destination for planespotters. It is often compared to

Princess Juliana International Airport Princess Juliana International Airport is the main airport on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. The airport is located on the Dutch side of the island, in the country of Sint Maarten, close to the shore of Simpson Bay Lagoon. In 2015, the ...

Saint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northe ...

since both airports offer the public an ability to legally experience landing approaches and takeoffs at very close range.

History

The airport first operated in 1972. A passenger terminal and a new control tower was constructed in 1988. In 2001 the terminal was closed down by a minor earthquake, and a new passenger terminal opened in 2002, to better accommodate the growing number of passengers. From 2019, as part of the Fraport construction works the airport has 2 current terminals. Terminal 1 was reconstructed and is currently the Domestic Terminal, and Terminal 2 is for international arrivals. Skiathos Airport has no jetways, meaning, prior to the 2016 work, passengers walked the short distance from the aircraft to the terminal building, now, a collection of buses drive passengers the short distance. From 2014, there was extension to the runway and a new taxiway was introduced. The runway was extended by 110 metres on the north side of the airport. An extension was added to the taxiway, for an additional 4–5 parking stands. The airport has the capacity for only 6 additional parking stands. This opened in 2016. The island has only a roundabout at the airport, and 1 set of Traffic lights at the end of the runway. In December 2015, the privatization of Skiathos Island National Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement between the

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 Skiathos Island National Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.

Future of Skiathos International Airport – Fraport Greece’s investment plan

On 22 March 2017, Fraport-Greece presented its master plan for the 14 Greek regional airports, including the Skiathos International Airport. Immediate actions that will be implemented at the airports as soon as Fraport Greece takes over operations, before the launch of the 2017 summer season include: * General re-organisation and reworking of terminal * Improving lighting, marking of airside areas * Replacing sanitary facilities with newer systems * Enhancing services and offering new free Internet connection (WiFi) * Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airports The following summarizes the enhancement changes that will be implemented for Skiathos International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan by 2021: * Expansion and reorganisation of the terminal building, alongside general clean-up of the apron area * Additional check-in desk for the current number (from 9 to 10) * Additional departure gate, expanding the current number of three to four * Addition of a brand-new security lane to the current one

Airlines and destinations

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

Traffic figures

The data taken from the official website of the airport. {, , - valign="top" , {, class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse" , - style="background:#f2f2f2;" ! style="text-align:center; width:150px;" rowspan="2", Year ! style="text-align:center; width:200px;" colspan="3", Passengers , - style="background:#f2f2f2;" ! style="text-align:center; width:200px;", Domestic ! style="text-align:center; width:200px;", International ! style="text-align:center; width:200px;", Total , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2009 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 16,470 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 218,601 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 235,071 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2010 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 16,880 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 213,609 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 230,489 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2011 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 20,473 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 226,185 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 246,658 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2012 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 18,465 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 236,440 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 254,905 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2013 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 25,216 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 240,557 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 265,773 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2014 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 32,097 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 283,300 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 315,397 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2015 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 34,560 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 318,523 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 353,083 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2016 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 44,174 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 350,827 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 395,001 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2017 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 43,740 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 380,366 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 424,106 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2018 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 48,228 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 389,688 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 437,916 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2019 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 55.535 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 390.684 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 446.219 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2020 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 19.541 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 69.375 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 88.916 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2021 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 34,666 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 171,341 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 206,007 , - , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 2022(Nov) , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 48,416 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 461,831 , style="text-align:center; width:150px;", 510,247

Ground transport

Skiathos Airport is located 4.5 km from the city of Skiathos and is accessible either from Skiathos ringroad or the coast road. The journey to and from the city centre takes about 10–15 minutes, depending on traffic. 24/7 metered taxi service is available outside the Skiathos Airport Terminal building.

References

{{authority control Airports in Greece Skiathos Transport infrastructure in Thessaly 1972 establishments in Greece