As much as I enjoy ferry travel, I sometimes want to get to my destination as quickly as possible. Usually, this means flying. Unfortunately, not all Greek islands have an airport, let alone an international one.
This is a list of all Greek islands with airports. Bookmark it for later use. To make it easy for you to find your next dream destination, I’ll keep islands in the same group together.
To start with, here’s a map of Greece showing the main groups of islands:
Contents of Greek Islands with Airports
The Argo-Saronic Islands
None of the Saronic islands has an airport. These islands are very close to Athens and therefore very easy to reach by ferry from Piraeus. They are so small that their names don’t appear on the above map.
The Athens International Airport (AIA) connects Greece to the whole world. Also known as the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, it is the largest airport in Greece, featuring 14 passenger boarding bridges and servicing around 10 million passengers per year.
The Cyclades (Cycladic Islands)
The Cyclades are probably the most visited Greek islands, mainly because they include the hugely popular Santorini and Mykonos.
While you can reach them by ferry from Athens, the journey takes many hours, and therefore many tourists prefer to fly directly into one of the islands in this cluster and then visit some of the other ones by short ferry trips.
Click here to see some Cyclades hopping itineraries that start with flying into Mykonos, then use ferries to return to Athens.
There are several islands with airports you can fly to in this group.
Santorini (JTR) – International
Located at 6km from the city of Thira, the Santorini International Airport is small but busy. During peak season, there are many low cost carriers and charter flights connecting Santorini to all major airports in Europe.
You can get from the JTR airport to various cities, towns or beaches on the island by taxi, private transfer or bus.
When it comes to leaving the island, you should either book a private transfer in advance or use public transport (buses to the airport depart from Thira’s Central Bus Station). There are very few taxis on the island, so it can be difficult to get one in time, particularly in the event of multiple flights scheduled to depart at the same time. We almost missed our flight last summer, as we couldn’t find a car in time. Many thanks, again, to our lovely hosts at N Renieris Apartments, who saved us by driving us to the airport to catch our flight.
Mykonos (JMK) – International
Like Santorini, Mykonos has only one airport. The International Airport of Mykonos is located in Chora, a 10 minutes’ drive away from Mykonos Town. There are many international airlines flying into JMK during summer. There are also charter flights from most major cities and towns in Europe, but they are all seasonal.
Should you intend to visit Mykonos during winter, you’ll have to fly in from Athens, using a domestic carrier.
There’s a low cost airline called Volotea that offers unbelievably cheap flights from Athens to Mykonos. I’ve just found some that cost 22 – 25 Euro one way.
Keep in mind, though, that almost everything on Mykonos is closed between November and April.
Milos (MLO) – Domestic
The island of Milos has one local airport that receives flights from Athens International Airport all year round. The flight takes 40 minutes and it may cost anywhere from 50 Euro to 100 Euro one-way.
Milos can be a perfect island hoping starting point, as it is near Sifnos, Serifos Kimolos, Folegandros, Sikinos and Ios
Naxos (JNX) – Domestic
The Naxos Island National Airport is located 3km from Naxos City. It receives Olympic Air and Sky Express flights from Athens.
Paros (PAS) – Domestic
Paros airport is located near Aliki village, at about 10km from Parikia, the main port and the capital of the island. There are multiple flights per day from Athens to Paros all year round. During summer, there are also direct flights from and to Thessaloniki.
There are two airline companies that operate flights to and from Paros: Sky Express and Olympic Air.
Syros (JSY) – Domestic
Syros National Airport “Demetrius Vikelas” receives flights from Athens, operated by Sky Express.
The Dodecanese Islands
Rhodes is the largest of the Dodecanese islands. I’m not going to start this list of Dodecanese islands with airport with Rhodes, though. There’s an island located just between the Cyclades and the Dodecanese, Astypalaia, which has a national airport.
Astypalaia (JTY) – Domestic
Astypalaia (or Astpalea) has a national airport that receives flights from Athens all year round. There are three flights per week from and to Athens, operated by Sky Express
The two routes from JTY are Athens and Leros (LRS), another small island in the Dodecanese, close to the Turkish coast. Sky Express is the company that also operates the Leros connection.
Leros (LRS) – Domestic
The Leros National Airport receives direct flights from Athens all year round. These flights are operated by Olympic Air.
Sky Express is the airline that connects Leros by air with the following Greek islands: Astypalaia, Rhodes, Kos and Kalymnos.
Kastellorizo (KZS) – Domestic
Kastelorizo is a tiny Greek island located right near the Turkish coast. As small as it may be, this island has its own national airport. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a direct connection to Athens. It can be interesting, though, if you set base on Rhodes and want to spend a few days on Kastellorizo.
There are three Olympic Air flights per week between Rhodes and Kastellorizo. The duration of the flight is 40 minutes. Flights are available all year round.
Kos (KGS) – International
The island of Kos receives flights from Athens, Rhodes and Kalymnos.
Carriers: Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air, Sky Express
International flights are operated by Aegean Air and they all have an intermediary stop in Athens.
Karpathos (AOK) – National
There are direct flights from Athens to Karpathos all year round. They are operated by Aegean Air and Olympic Air.
There are also Sky Express direct flights between Rhodes and Karpathos, and seasonal flights (starting from February) between Kasos island and Karpathos (good for island hopping in the Dodecanese cluster).
Kasos (KJS) – Domestic
Kasos and Karpathos are connected via Sky Express flights from spring to late fall. In 2022, the first flights are scheduled for February. Keep this in mind for your Greek islands hoping plans.
Kalymnos (JKL) – Domestic
There are a few direct flights Kalymnos – Athens per week. The operator is Sky Express. The flight takes one hour.
Sky Express also offers connections between Kalymnos and Kos, Kalymnos and Leros, among others.
Kos (KGS) – Domestic
There are direct flights from Athens to Kos all year round. The flights take about one hour and they are operated by Aegean Air, Sky Express and Olympic Air.
Leros (LRS) – Domestic
Sky Express flights connect Leros to Kalymnos Island.
Aegean Air and Olympic Air secure the connection between the island of Leros and the International Athens Airport.
Kastelorizo (KZS) – Domestic
Kastelorizo is a tiny island off the Turkish coast. You can get there by ferry from Rhodes. There are also Olympic Air flights between Rhodes and Kastelorizo all year round. These flights take 35 minutes. The ferry trip is much longer, but also way cheaper.
The Ionian Islands
Corfu (CFU) – International
The island of Corfu, or Kerkira, has its own connection to the world, the Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport. Many low cost carriers fly to Corfu from various cities in Europe.
Sky Express flights link Corfu to Lefkada (via the Aktion National Airport in Preveza).
Lefkada (PVK) – Domestic
The Aktion National Airport in Preveza connects the island of Lefkada to the world. There are many seasonal charter and low cost flights.
Kefalonia (EFL) – International
Kefalonia has an international airport – Anna Pollatou (EFL). It receives many seasonal charters from cities in Europe and the UK.
Zakynthos (ZTH) – International
Dionysos Solomos International Airport is located 1km away from Laganas and 6km away from Zakynthos Town.
Kythira / Cythera (KIT) – Domestic
Kythira is a small island located in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Peloponnese. Even though it is far away from the other islands in the Ionian group, that’s where it belongs from administrative point of view.
The Kithira Island National Airport “Alexandros Aristotelous Onassis” receives traffic from Athens all year round, and from Thessaloniki between July and September.
During summer, there are many charters that fly to and from Kithira.
The Sporades
There are two islands with airports in the Sporades cluster, Skiatos and Skyros.
Skiathos – Alexandris Papadiamantis International Airport (JSI)
According to Wikipedia, this airport was created by joining together the island of Skiathos and Lazareta, a much smaller island that used to serve as a leper colony in the past.
There are Olympic Air flights Athens – Skiathos and Thessaloniki – Skiathos all year round. You can fly to Skiathos and then use ferries for island hopping in the Sporades (Skopelos, Alonissos, Skiros)
Skyros (SKU) – Domestic
Skyros has a very small airport that receives flights from Thessaloniki and Athens. Both flights take 40 minutes.
The North Aegean Islands
Samos (SMI) – International Airport
All international flights to and from Samos pass by Athens (at least that’s what I was able to work out by playing around with dates and routes).
Lesvos Mytilene International Airport (MJT)
Located at 8km from Mytilene, the Lesvos (Lesbos) airport receives both domestic and international flights. It receives seasonal flights from Vienna, Brussels, Helsinki, London, Manchester, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Prague, Katowice, Warsaw and Amsterdam, as well as all year round flights from Athens
Lemnos – Hephaestus International Airport (LXS)
Lemnos (or Limnos) is famous for its beautiful beaches and archeological sites. If you hate crowds, choose Lemnos for your vacation, as it is one of the lesser-known Greek islands.
Lemnos receives Olympic Air flights from Athens, Thessaloniki and Ikaria, as well as Sky Express flights from Athens, Chios, Lesvos, Rhodes and Samos.
Chios (JKH) – Domestic
Located south of Chios City, the Chios Island National Airport connects Chios to Athens, Thessaloniki, Lemnos, Lesbos, Rhodes, and Samos.
Ikaria (JIK) – Domestic
The National Airport of Ikaria receives daily flights from Athens all year round. Olympic Air flights connect Ikaria to Athens, Thessaloniki and the island of Lemnos.
Evia
Evia doesn’t have its own airport, but you can reach it by flying into the International Athens Airport and by using a shuttle bus provided by KTEL, the public transport company in Greece.
Crete
Crete has two international airports: Heraklion Airport (HER) and Chania Airport (CHQ). There’s also a domestic airport in Sitia (JSH), with three flight routes: Athens, Preveza (Lefkada) and Alexandroupolis.
Both Chania and Heraklion airports receive flights from almost all important cities in Europe and the UK. Lots of low cost flights and charters land here every summer.
If you have a choice, you’d better choose to land on Chania Airport, as it is much smaller and more convenient than Heraklion. There are taxis and reliable buses on Crete, as well as car rental companies.
Bookmark or pin this list of Greek islands with airports for later:
