Thessaloniki Airport

Thessaloniki Airport (IATA: SKG, ICAO: LGTS), officially Thessaloniki Airport "Makedonia"[4] (Greek: Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Θεσσαλονίκης "Μακεδονία", romanized: Kratikós Aeroliménas Thessaloníkis "Makedonía")[5] and formerly Mikra Airport, is an international airport serving Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece. It is located 13 km (8.1 mi) southeast of the city, in Thermi.[1]

"Macedonia Airport" redirects here. For airports pertaining to the Republic of North Macedonia, see List of airports in North Macedonia.

Thessaloniki Airport "Makedonia" Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Θεσσαλονίκης "Μακεδονία"
IATA: SKG ICAO: LGTS
Summary
Airport type	Public / military
Owner	Government of Greece
Operator	Fraport Greece
Serves	Thessaloniki
Location	Mikra, Macedonia, Greece
Hub for	Aegean Airlines Ellinair Olympic Air Ryanair
Elevation AMSL	7 m / 22 ft
Coordinates	40°31′11″N 22°58′15″E
Website	skg-airport.gr Official airfield data at the Air Traffic Safety Electronic Engineers Association of Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority website lists no official website for the airport.
Maps
Map of the airport
SKG Location of the airport in Greece
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10/28 3,440 11,286 Asphalt 16/34 2,410 7,907 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 6,897,057 Passenger traffic change 3.1% Aircraft movements 55,738 Aircraft movements change 0.9%
Sources: Greek AIP at Eurocontrol[1] WAD[2] Statistics: Fraport Greece[3]

The airport is the third-largest airport in the country after Athens International Airport and Heraklion International Airport. It opened in 1930 and was the second-busiest airport in Greece in terms of flights served and the third-busiest in terms of passengers served in 2016, with over 6 million passengers. It is the main airport of Northern Greece and apart from the city of Thessaloniki it also serves the popular tourist destination of Chalkidiki and the surrounding cities of Central Macedonia. The Athens–Thessaloniki route is the tenth busiest in the EU with 1.8 million passengers.[6] To cope with demand, a second terminal is currently under construction as part of a billion-euro investment by Fraport Greece, the company which operates the airport.[7][8]

History

The airport was first established as an airfield during the First World War, as part of the allied war effort on the Macedonian front.[9] There were numerous airfields at the time, including Little Mikra, Big Mikra (which became the current international airport), and the major military airfield of Sedes.[9] The first international flight to Thessaloniki landed at the Little Mikra air field, and government efforts at encouraging the growth of civil aviation saw the start of construction of a purpose-built civilian airport at the present location in 1938.[9] Works were temporarily abandoned due to the Second World War and the airport opened to civilian traffic in 1948.[9]

Major works were undertaken after the war. The accession of Greece to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation saw NATO-funded investments such as the expansion of the 10/28 runway to 2,440 metres (8,010 ft) and the inauguration of a new terminal building in 1965.[9] Damage to the tower caused by the 1978 Thessaloniki earthquake meant it needed to be torn down, and a new tower, still in operation, was built.[9] Modernisation works were undertaken in the late 1990s, as part of the celebrations for Thessaloniki being European Capital of Culture in 1997.[9] In 1993 the airport took the name Makedonia (Greek: Μακεδονία, Macedonia).[9]

The operational aspects of the airport were privatised in 2015. Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture and the state privatisation fund agreed to the privatisation of the airport operations, and 13 other Greek airports, in December 2015.[10] Fraport Greece will operate the airport for 40 years starting on 11 April 2017.[11] It pledged to invest €400 million ($471.92 million) on the various airports, including a refurbishment of the existing terminal at Thessaloniki as well as the construction of a second terminal.[12] Construction on the new terminal began on 19 September 2018.[7] Fraport expects passenger traffic to increase by 48% by 2026 as a result of its investment.[9]

Facilities

Terminal

The airport's terminal consists of three floors. The ground floor serves arrivals only and is divided into two sections: international/extra-Schengen arrivals and domestic/intra-Schengen arrivals. The second floor serves departures and also includes a shopping center. On this floor there are 34 check-in counters, waiting areas, bars, stores and various airlines' offices. The third floor houses two restaurants and several bars with views to the runways. There are two passenger lounges. An additional terminal is to be opened in 2021.[13]

Runways and apron

Aerial view of the airport in 2011, showing the progress of construction of the runway expansion

The airport has two runways (10/28 and 16/34) and two taxiways. There are 22 stands for narrow-body aircraft and about 20 for light aircraft.

A modernisation and expansion project for runway 10/28 began in 2005, with an initial completion date of 2011, but has since been delayed[13] and was finally completed in March 2019.[14] Modernisation projects on the tarmac and other runway are expected to be completed in 2019.[13] The runway is expected to enter service in the Fall of 2019.[14] Overall, the project took almost a quarter century to build, from inception in 1997, and it has an estimated cost of €179 million ($211 million).[15] The runway will be extended by 1000 meters into the sea, with a total length of 3440 meters and will be equipped with ILS.[14] When the runway opens for commercial use it will be able to accommodate 89.6% of current commercial aircraft types, as opposed to just 22.6% before the extension,[15] and will improve safety while landing in bad weather conditions and low visibility.[14]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Athens, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Heraklion, Larnaca, Moscow–Domodedovo, Munich, Mytilene, Rhodes, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv Seasonal: Chania, Hannover, Mykonos, Nuremberg, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Saint Petersburg, Santorini Seasonal charter: Yerevan
Aeroflot	Moscow–Sheremetyevo
airBaltic	Seasonal: Riga (resumes 11 May 2021)[16]
Air France	Seasonal: Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Moldova	Seasonal: Chișinău
Air Serbia	Belgrade Seasonal: Kraljevo (suspended)[17][18]
Alitalia	Seasonal: Milan–Linate
Arkia	Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv
Austrian Airlines	Vienna
Avanti Air	Seasonal charter: Innsbruck
Belavia	Seasonal charter: Minsk
Blue Air	Larnaca
Bluebird Airways	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
British Airways	Seasonal: London-Gatwick (resumes 28 March 2021), London–Heathrow (ends 1 November 2020)[19]
Buzz	Seasonal charter: Katowice, Poznań
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca
easyJet	Berlin–Schönefeld, London–Gatwick, Manchester Seasonal: London–Luton, Venice
easyJet Switzerland	Seasonal: Basel/Mulhouse
Ellinair	Athens, Heraklion, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow–Vnukovo Seasonal: Baku (begins 14 June 2021)[20], Dnipropetrovsk, Katowice, Kazan, Kharkiv, Kiev–Zhuliany, Krasnodar, Lviv, Odessa, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Warsaw–Chopin
Enter Air	Seasonal charter: Gdańsk, Katowice, Poznań, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław
Eurowings	Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich (ends 26 October 2020), Stuttgart Seasonal: Hannover
Israir	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Jet2.com	Seasonal: Birmingham (resumes 2 May 2021), Edinburgh (resumes 4 May 2021)[21], Leeds/Bradford (resumes 30 April 2021)[22], London–Stansted (resumes 30 April 2021)[23], Manchester (resumes 1 May 2021)[24], Newcastle upon Tyne (resumes 5 May 2021)[25]
LOT Polish Airlines	Seasonal: Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Rzeszów, Warsaw-Chopin, Wrocław
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich (begins 27 October 2020)[26]
NordStar	Seasonal charter: Moscow–Domodedovo
Olympic Air	Chios, Ikaria, Kalamata, Kos, Lemnos, Samos Seasonal: Paros, Santorini
Qatar Airways	Doha (resumes 27 October 2020) [27]
Ryanair	Amman–Queen Alia (resumes 26 October 2020), Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin–Schönefeld, Bologna, Bratislava, Budapest, Chania, Charleroi, Copenhagen, Dortmund, Eindhoven, Hahn (ends 31 October 2020), Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Kraków, London–Stansted, Malta, Manchester, Memmingen, Nuremberg, Paphos, Rome–Ciampino, Stockholm–Skavsta, Tel Aviv (resumes 4 September 2020), Vienna, Weeze Seasonal: Bordeaux, Bremen, Dublin, Gothenburg, Prague (begins 28 March 2021)[28], Warsaw–Modlin, Yerevan (begins 17 August 2020)
Scandinavian Airlines	Stockholm–Arlanda Seasonal: Copenhagen
Sky Express	Chios, Corfu, Mytilene, Samos, Skyros
Smartwings	Seasonal: Prague Seasonal charter: Brno
Smartwings Poland	Seasonal charter: Gdańsk, Katowice, Warsaw–Chopin, Wrocław
Smartwings Slovakia	Seasonal charter: Bratislava
Sun D'Or	Seasonal: Tel Aviv
Swiss International Air Lines	Seasonal: Geneva, Zürich
TAROM	Bucharest
Transavia	Amsterdam
Transavia France	Paris–Orly
TUI Airways	Seasonal: Birmingham, Bristol (resumes 10 May 2021)[29], London–Gatwick, Manchester (resumes 10 May 2021)[30]
TUI fly Belgium	Seasonal: Brussels
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul (resumes 2 September 2020)
Utair	Seasonal: Moscow–Vnukovo
Volotea	Heraklion[31] Seasonal: Mykonos, Santorini
Wizz Air	Budapest, Dortmund, Kiev–Zhuliany (resumes 1 September 2020), Kutaisi (resumes 2 May 2021)[32], Larnaca, London–Luton, Milan–Malpensa, Vienna
Yamal Airlines	Seasonal charter: Moscow–Domodedovo, Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Voronezh

Statistics

Overview

Between 1994 and 2010, Thessaloniki Airport saw a rise in passenger traffic equal to 76%, from 2.2 million in 1994 to 3.9 million in 2010.[4] Between 2003 and 2008 the airport saw a passenger traffic increase of 19.1% from 3.5 million to almost 4.2 million passengers, an all-time high. The number of passengers dropped in next years. However, over the last two years the airport experienced passenger traffic increase to just above four million by 2013. Significant traffic increase took place during 2014, with the total number of passengers exceeding the five million mark for the first time.[4]

Annual statistics

Passenger, aircraft movement at "Makedonia" airport: 1994–2019[4]

Year	Passenger traffic	Passenger % change	Aircraft movements	Aircraft % change
1994	2,227,487	n/a	29.990	n/a
1995	2,336,219	4.8	30.827	2.7
1996	2,499,892	7	33.850	9.8
1997	2,797,166	11.8	39.766	17.4
1998	2,667,075	4.6	39.473	n/a
1999	3,186,721	19.4	47.589	n/a
2000	3,548,027	11.3	49.007	n/a
2001	3,430,819	3.3	42.982	n/a
2002	3,257,436	5	39.550	n/a
2003	3,500,922	7.4	48.310	n/a
2004	3,620,909	3.4	50.608	n/a
2005	3,670,581	3.6	47.186	n/a
2006	3,802,854	5.6	47.380	n/a
2007	4,167,969	9.7	50.244	n/a
2008	4,169,559	0.4	47.882	n/a
2009	4,104,195	1.5	50.238	n/a
2010	3,910,751	4.7	44,938	n/a
2011	3,958,475	1.2	43,430	3.3
2012	4,006,204	1.2	43,006	0.9
2013	4,039,576	0.8	39,500	8.6
2014	4,950,726	22.5	45,900	16.2
2015	5,341,293	7.8	47,340	3.1
2016	5,735,581	7.3	48,710	2.8
2017	6,247,514	8.9	54,931	12.7
2018	6,689,193	7	55,307	0.6
2019	6,897,057	3,1	55,738	0.9
2020 (Jul)	1.336.409	65,3	14.221	55.3

Busiest passenger routes by country

The table below shows passenger totals at Thessaloniki International Airport by country destination during 2018. [33]

Passenger traffic per country destination (2018)

Rank	Country destination	Passengers	Change %
GR	Greece	2,333,925	0.8
1	Germany	1.488.151	8.9
2	Great Britain	444,284	22.5
3	Cyprus	432,856	2.5
4	Russia	337,676	4.3
5	Italy	235,204	17.6
6	The Netherlands	163.850	55.3
7	Turkey	131,925	2.3
8	Israel	124,232	124.2
9	Poland	118,533	8.9
10	Belgium	111,860	9.4

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from Thessaloniki Airport

Rank	Destination	Airport	Monthly one-way capacity 2016	Airline(s)
1	Athens	ATH	65,298	Aegean Airlines, Ellinair, Ryanair
2	Munich	MUC	16,678	Aegean Airlines
3	Stuttgart	STR	11,490	Aegean Airlines, Germanwings
4	Berlin	SXF	10,710	easyJet, Ryanair
5	Larnaca	LCA	9,826	Aegean Airlines, Blue Air, Cobalt Air, Ellinair
6	Heraklion	HER	9,798	Astra Airlines, Ellinair, Olympic Air
7	Istanbul	IST	9,060	Turkish Airlines
8	Paphos	PFO	8,883	Ryanair
9	Düsseldorf	DUS	8,859	Aegean Airlines, Eurowings, Astra Airlines
10	Chania	CHQ	8,802	Olympic Air, Ryanair, Aegean Airlines
11	Frankfurt	FRA	8,406	Aegean Airlines, Astra Airlines, Condor, Ellinair
12	London	LGW	8,304	easyJet, British Airways

Top airlines

Monthly one-way capacity for 2016[34]

Rank	Airline	Passengers	Change
1	Aegean Airlines	105,348	8.8%
2	Ryanair	75,789	9.3%
3	Easyjet	15,888	1.8%
4	Ellinair	15,408	51%
5	Germanwings	11,760	13.5%
6	Air Berlin	10,578	51%
7	Olympic Air (NEW)	10,062	N/A
8	Turkish Airlines	9,060	4.9%
9	Air Serbia	5,820	2.1%
10	Transavia	5,670	0.7%
11	Astra Airlines	5,284	54.3%
12	Austrian Airlines	5,220	26.3%

Transport

OASTH Bus 01X
KTEL–Makedonia Airport
0:00 Thessaloniki Bus Station (KTEL) 0:04 Balta 0:07 Zografou New Railway Station (N. Sid. Stathmos ) 0:10 Kolomvou 0:12 Aristotelous Square 0:16 Kamara 0:19 Agia Fotini/University of Macedonia University of Macedonia (Panepistimio ) 0:22 Dimarhiako Megaro 0:23 Faliro 0:24 Laografiko Mousio 0:26 Megaro Mousikis/25 Martiou 25 Martiou 0:28 Periferiaki Enotita Thessalonikis 0:31 Krikela 0:35 Agora 0:44 Astinomia 0:46 Makedonia Airport Departures 0:49 Makedonia Airport Arrivals

The airport is directly connected with the city's major road arteries in the southeast, the EO16 and the A25, which connects Thessaloniki with Chalkidiki, via the ΕΟ67. The Thessaloniki Inner Ring Road provides access to the A1/E75 and A2/E90 motorways. A total of 2,285 parking spaces for cars exist at the front of the terminal building. A car rental service is available at the terminal building. In addition, taxi services are available outside the airport terminal building 24 hours a day.[35]

Public transport

There are plans to connect the airport with the Thessaloniki Metro network, which is set to open in 2023 after delays. Attiko Metro, the company overseeing the project, has published a map of proposed extensions, and it includes an overground extension of Line 2 towards the airport.[36] This extension is not an immediate concern for the company, however, since the terminus of Line 2, Mikra, will be connected with the airport by a 10-minute shuttle bus.[37] Detailed planning of the metro extension toward the airport was initiated in March 2019.[38]

In the meantime, the airport is served on a 24-hour basis by bus 01X/01N of the Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization (OASTH), which provides bus services between the Thessaloniki Bus Station (KTEL) and Makedonia airport arrivals/departures.[39]

Accidents and incidents

HA-LCR next to the airport fire station, in April 2018

• On 12 August 1997, Olympic Airways Flight 171, a Boeing 727-230 registered as SX-CBI inbound from Athens Ellinikon Airport, touched down late and was steered off the runway to avoid overrunning into the sea. None of the 35 passengers and crew were killed, but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.[40]
• On 17 December 1997, Aerosvit Flight 241, a Yakovlev Yak-42, operating the route from Odessa, Ukraine to Thessaloniki, lost contact with the airport's air traffic control and during the second attempt the aircraft crashed in the Pierian Mountains, near Mount Olympus. A total of 70 people, passengers and crew, 41 of which were Greeks, were killed.
• On 4 July 2000, HA-LCR, a chartered Malév Flight 262 Tupolev Tu-154 landed on its belly. The crew had forgotten to lower the undercarriage and the plane skidded 400 m (1,300 ft) on the runway. Thanks to the plane's robust construction and the engines' high position, the plane was able to become airborne again as the pilots applied full throttle. It circled while the crew lowered the undercarriage and landed safely. There were no injuries. It was considered uneconomical to repair the aircraft. The aircraft still remains on site,[41] although airline markings have been obscured and it has been heavily depleted of re-usable spares.
• On 15 June 2013, an AMC Airlines Boeing 737-800 on behalf of Astra Airlines Greece, registration SU-BPZ performing flight A2-921 from Novosibirsk (Russia) to Thessaloniki (Greece) with 160 passengers, landed on Thessaloniki's runway 16 at about 07:14L (04:14Z) but overran the end of the runway by about 110 meters/360 feet and came to a stop with all gear on soft ground. No injuries occurred, the aircraft received minor if any damage.[42]

See also

• List of the busiest airports in Greece
• Transport in Greece

References

1. "EAD Basic". Ead.eurocontrol.int. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
2. "MAKEDONIA". World Aero Data. WorldAeroData.com. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
3. "Thessaloniki Airport Air Traffic statistics". Retrieved 10 January 2020.
4. "THESSALONIKI AIRPORT "MAKEDONIA"". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
5. "Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Θεσσαλονίκης "Μακεδονία" (ΚΑΘΜ)". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
6. "International intra-EU air passenger transport by reporting country and EU partner country". www.eurostat.ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
7. Zois, Fanis (19 September 2018). "Θεμελιώνεται το νέο τέρμιναλ του αεροδρομίου "Μακεδονία"" [Foundation works begin on the new terminal of Makedonia airport]. www.naftemporiki.gr (in Greek). Naftemporiki. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
8. "Thessaloniki". www.fraport-greece.com. Fraport Greece. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
9. Τζήμου, Κύα (19 October 2016). "Από τη Μίκρα στο SKG. Από το χθες στο αύριο του αεροδρομίου της Θεσσαλονίκης" [From Mikra to SKG: From the yesterday to the tomorrow of Thessaloniki airport]. www.parallaximag.gr (in Greek). Parallaxi Magazine. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
10. "Greece signs privatization of 14 regional airports with Germany's Fraport - TornosNews.gr". www.tornosnews.gr.
11. "The Company". www.fraport-greece.com. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
12. "The Future of the "MAKEDONIA" airport". www.skg-airport.gr. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
13. "Αεροδρόμιο Μακεδονία: Το 2019 μεταφέρεται η λειτουργία του νέου "υπερατλαντικού" διαδρόμου" [Makedonia Airport: the operation of the new "transcontinental" runway is being pushed back to 2019]. www.ypodomes.gr. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
14. "Παραδόθηκε ο "υπερατλαντικός" διάδρομος προσαπογείωσης 10-28 του Αεροδρομίου Μακεδονία - ypodomes.com". www.ypodomes.com (in Greek). Retrieved 7 April 2019.
15. Καρολίδου, Άννη (16 April 2018). ""Μακεδονία": Οδύσσεια 21 ετών για τον διάδρομο 10-28 – Πότε τελειώνει" ["Makedonia": 21-year Odyssey for runway 10-28 – When it finishes]. www.voria.gr. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
16. https://www.leta.lv/eng/home/press_release/6B246BC6-9682-4A53-B0E8-2CADC0F77D1B/
17. Air Serbia adds Kraljevo – Thessaloniki link from late-March 2020
18. https://www.exyuaviation.com/2020/07/air-serbia-shelves-kraljevo.html
19. https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/292779/british-airways-delays-gatwick-short-haul-resumption-to-early-nov-2020/?highlight=british%20airways%20gatwick
20. https://www.mouzenidis.com/en-us/avia/search
21. https://www.jet2.com/
22. https://www.jet2.com/
23. https://www.jet2.com/
24. https://www.jet2.com/
25. https://www.jet2.com/
26. "LUFTHANSA: ΑΠΕΥΘΕΙΑΣ ΔΡΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΟ ΘΕΣΣΑΛΟΝΙΚΗ-ΜΟΝΑΧΟ ΑΠΟ ΤΟΝ ΟΚΤΩΒΡΙΟ". Retrieved 3 February 2020.
27. https://www.qatarairways.com/en/homepage.html
28. https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en
29. https://www.tui.co.uk/flight/
30. https://www.tui.co.uk/flight/
31. https://booking.volotea.com/CalendarSelect.aspx?culture=en-GB
32. https://wizzair.com/#/
33. https://www.skg-airport.gr/uploads/sys_nodelng/2/2869/SKG_FY_Int_Traffic_by_Country.pdf
34. "Thessaloniki Airport traffic up 8.1%". www.anna.aero. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
35. "Car Rental". www.skg-airport.gr. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
36. Attiko Metro A.E. "Ιστορικό" [History]. www.ametro.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 17 August 2018.
37. "Η Συνέντευξη τoυ Γιάννη Μυλόπουλου για το Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης" [Giannis Mylopoulos' interview about the Thessaloniki Metro]. www.ypodomes.gr. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
38. "Τοπογραφικές μελέτες για την επέκταση του Μετρό Θεσσαλονίκης προς Αεροδρόμιο "Μακεδονία"" [Topographical studies for the extension of the Thessaloniki Metro to the "Makedonia" Airport] (PDF) (in Greek). Attiko Metro. 18 March 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
39. "Πληροφορίες Γραμμής 01X: Κ.Τ.Ε.Λ.-ΑΕΡΟΔΡΟΜΙΟ" [Information on Line 01X: KTEL–Airport]. www.oasth.gr (in Greek). Thessaloniki Urban Transport Organization. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
40. "Accident description Olympic Airways SX-CBI". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
41. "Photos: Tupolev Tu-154B-2 aircraft". airliners.net. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
42. "Incident: AMC B738 at Thessaloniki on Jun 15th 2013, overran runway on landing". avherald.com.

External links

Media related to Thessaloniki International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Thessaloniki Airport Official Fraport website
• Official government website
• Greek Airports
• Accident history for SKG at Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for LGTS at NOAA/NWS