Airport type Public/Military Serves Chania, Crete Address Chania 731 00, Greece Elevation 149 m Yearly aircraft movements 18,798 | Owner Hellenic State Location Chania, Crete, Greece Code CHQ Phone +30 2821 083800 Passenger count 2,986,203 | |
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Operator Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (until 15/3/2017) Focus city for Aegean Airlines (seasonal)
Ryanair | ||
Chania International Airport, "Daskalogiannis" (IATA: CHQ, ICAO: LGSA) is an international airport located near Souda Bay on the Akrotiri Peninsula of the Greek island of Crete, serving the city of Chania, 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) away. Moreover, it is a gateway to western Crete for an increasing amount of tourists. The airport is named after Daskalogiannis, a Cretan rebel against Ottoman rule in the 18th century and is a joint civil–military airport. It is the fifth busiest airport in Greece and 8th in Balkan peninsula in terms of passengers. From 2010 to 2016 has a great increase about 100% in passengers arrivals. The airport is connected with many countries (about 30) from Europe and Asia especially in summer season and with flights connections in Greece and Cyprus whole year. The last season the arrivals of passengers were about 3.000.000.
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History
The focus on civil aviation for the west of Crete has not always been on the current location. It was the airport of Maleme that served civil flights up to 1959, and dating back to the end of Second World War.
Maleme (Military) Airport was constructed by the British Military, shortly before the Second World War. When the war was over, the facility was used as the main public airport of Chania.
In 1959, this activity was transferred to the military airport of Souda. 1967 saw the construction of the first passenger terminal and parking space for two aircraft. In 1974, the airport also began to serve international flights. Because of insufficient capacity, there was the need for a new terminal building. Eventually, in 1996, the new terminal was ready, measuring a surface area of 14,650 square metres (157,700 sq ft), with 6 aircraft stands in front. It has a design capacity of 1.35 million passengers per year. In 2000, it was officially named Ioannis Daskalogiannis.
The airport is also intensively used by the Hellenic Air Force.
In December 2015 the privatisation of Chania International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement between the Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture and the state privatisation fund. "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Chania International Airport) for 40 years as of autumn 2016.
Transportation
The airport can be easily reached by car via the main road network. The city of Chania is about 20 minutes drive away. Other than by car, the facility is linked by airport buses to the city of Chania, from where transfer to other buses is possible. The airport buses depart 7 times daily. Journey time is about half an hour. Passengers can also take a taxi to any destination across the island. The taxi stand is located just outside the terminal. Taxis operate as long as flights depart and arrive at the airport.