Heraklion International Airport - "N.KAZANTZAKIS"

Airport History

Many centuries passed since Ikaros, a popular character of '' Greek Mythology '', flew over Crete. Finally the myth became reality in 1937. The first airport of Iraklio was built ten kilometers east of the Palace of Knossos accommodating the first small planes.
The first plane that ever landed in Iraklion Airport was a Junkers-52, in 1939. This plane had a capacity of 14 passengers. The owner of the plane was the Greek Company of Air Transport. The operation of the airport was interrupted in 1941 due to the Second World War. In the Fall of 1946 the airport resumed its operation with planes DC-3.

At the time, the airport could not offer may conveniences. The whole airport building consisted of three tents. The first tent was used as the Airport Administration Office, the second tent was used as offices for the airline companies and the third tent was used for servicing the passengers. Storm lamps were used to illuminate the runway. The determination of wide direction intensity was based on observing the smoke caused by burning dry glass. Finally, in 1947, a small building was constructed for services and a small room as passenger area.
In 1948, a company called Ellas initiated airline connections between Iraklion Airport and other destinations. The total number of passengers served that year, was 4.000. In 1953, a new runway 09-27 was built with a total length of 1850 meters.

A four-engine plane landed for the first time in Iraklion Airport in 1954. It was a DC-4 property of the airline company TAE, and it had a capacity of 64 passengers. Such airplanes increased rapidly the number of passengers using Iraklion Airport. For example, the same year (1954), the number of passengers using Iraklion Airport was 18.000.
In 1957, a new airline company, Olympic Airways, started airline connections between Iraklion-Athens with DC-6B type airplanes. These planes have a capacity of 95 seats, therefore they increased substantially the number of passengers served by Iraklion Airport.
The new airport building was built in 1971. In the late 1980's, a new development project for the airport included additional buildings and additional airplane parking space. This project is still underway (1998) to satisfy the airport's rapidly increasing demands. The purpose of the entire project is to provide better and quicker service for airport traffic which will make passenger's life inside the airport, more convenient. New aeronautical systems will be installed along with new safety devices. More buildings will be built and the construction of a new runway is under consideration to overcome environmental problems caused by engine noise of the airplanes.

Today, there is enough parking space facilitate fifteen large airplanes (B 747,B 767, B 737, A 300, DC 10, etc.) and there is also a second parking area for light planes. There are various offices available in the airport. These include: Civil Aviation Authority Offices (Administration, Airport Authority, Tower, Maintenance etc.) Duty Free Shop, Information Desk, Airline Companies ( Olympic Airways, Air Greece, Lufthansa etc. ), Representative of Airline Companies, Handling Agent, Tourist Offices (E.O.T., Travel Star Zeus), Hotel Reservation Service, Rent a Car Offices, Rent a Bike Offices, Currency Exchange Offices, Bank, Restaurant, Bars, Catering, Luggage Storage Service, Lost & Found, Cart Services, Post office, Medical Office, Baby Rooms, Art Shop, Fuel Companies (EKO, BP, Mobil, Shell).
The following Table reveals data information which indicates the rapid increase of the Airport Traffic and the importance of the Airport to the local and National Economy of Hellas (Greece).

Coordinates:

Heraklion International Airport

Address: Heraklion International Airport
N.Kazantzakis
Heraklion
Crete Island

Location: Heraklion

Tel: (2810) 245598 / 228446
Fax: (2810) 221700

AIRPORT MANAGER : +30(2810)397111
AIRPORT AUTHORITY :+30(2810) 397132
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL:+30(2810) 397140
AIRPORT INFORMATION :+30(2810) 397129

E-mail : kahktl at otenet gr

WEB: http://www.hcaa-eleng.gr/irak.htm

Images and information placed above are from
http://www.hcaa-eleng.gr/irak.htm
We thank them for the data!

General Info
Country	Greece
ICAO ID	LGIR
Time	UTC+2(+3DT)
Latitude	35.339719 35° 20' 22.99" N
Longitude	25.180297 025° 10' 49.07" E
Elevation	115 feet 35 meters
Type	Civil
Magnetic Variation	003° E (01/05)
Beacon	Yes
Near City	Iraklion
Operating Hours	24 HOUR OPERATIONS
International Clearance Status	Airport of Entry
Daylight Savings Time	Last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October

Communications
TWR	120.85 122.1 257.8
RADAR	123.975 362.3
GND	121.7
DIRECTOR	118.025
ATIS	127.55
APP	123.975 122.1 362.3
RDO	5637 2989 (5637 Opr 0400-1700Z++) (2989 Opr 1700-0400Z++)

Runways
ID	Dimensions	Surface	PCN	ILS
09/27	8800 x 148 feet 2682 x 45 meters	ASPHALT	036FBXU	NO
12/30	5138 x 164 feet 1566 x 50 meters	ASPHALT	036FBXU	NO

Navaids
Type	ID	Name	Channel	Freq	Distance From Field	Bearing From Navaid
TACAN	RKL	IRAKLION	020X	-	2.2 NM	281.2
VOR-DME	IRA	IRAKLION	025X	108.8	At Field	-
NDB	HER	IRAKLION	-	431	At Field	-

Remarks
A-GEAR	Avbl Mon thru Fri, SR to 1300Z, 30 min PN; Sat, Sun and hol 1 hr PN. The last 984 ft. Rwy 27 unavbl dur barrier opn.
CAUTION	Bird haz. Two Cranes, 220' and 138', opr day and ngt, West of rwy, lgtd ngt only.
FUEL	A1 (EKO Elda Abee. Avbl 0400-2100Z++ (0400-0100Z++ Mon, Tue-Sat; 0400-2200Z++ Wed, Sun sum)). (NC-100LL, Shell or Mobil) Shell avbl 0400-2000Z++ O/T 1hr PN, Fone C(2810) 289981, Mobil avbl 0430-1800Z++ O/T 12hr PN, Fone C(2810) 28689.
LGT	ABn, W coded H. PAPI Rwy 09-27 rcpt ltd to 10 either side of cntrline. PAPI Rwy27 GS 3.0 .
RSTD	Last 984' of Rwy 27 not avbl dur barrier act.

Runway 09/27

8800 x 148 feet
2682 x 45 meters

Runway 12/30

5138 x 164 feet
1566 x 50 meters

Navaids

Navaids

Navaids

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2005.
We don't guarantee the information is fresh and accurate. The data may be wrong or outdated.
For more up-to-date information please refer to other sources.