Heraklion International

Location Name
Heraklion International Airport

Airport codes
HER

Location Address
Heraklion International Airport
Ikarou str, Nikos Alikarnassos, 71601,
Heraklion,
Crete,
Greece

Access
The airport is adjacent to Route 90 which is the main east -west route along the north coast of the island. Most of the resorts are also located along
the north coast and so the drive to and from the airport is fairly straight forward.

Airport Overview

Heraklion International Airport is the main port of entry for aircraft to the Greek island of Crete. It is the country's second busiest airport
after Athens International 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. The purpose and main aim of the entire project was to provide better and quicker service for airport traffic which
would make passenger's life inside the airport, more convenient. New aeronautical systems have been installed along with new safety devices.
During the last 10 years and according to the increased requirements of Olympic Games 2004, more buildings have been built as well as a new runway,
under consideration, to resolve environmental problems caused by engine noise of the airplanes in the area.
Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (port and airport),
while charter flights to Heraklion were last year 20% of the total of charter flights in Greece.
In sum more than two million tourists visited Crete last year. This increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, which increased in Crete by 53% from
while in the rest of Greece the increase was 25%.

It is expected that Heraklion Airport will be replaced by a new facility by around 2015.

Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the facilities
(swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities.
Visitors can arrive at the island through two international airports in Heraklion and Hania, or by boat to the ports of Heraklion, Hania, Rethimno and Agios Nikolaos.

Contacts

Telephone:
+30 (2810) 397 129
Fax
+30 (2810) 221 700
Web
http://www.hcaa-eleng.gr/irak.htm

Airport Information

There is one information desk in the terminal, located centrally in the departures area. It is open 24 hours a day.
The car park is located near the terminal building and has parking spaces for 500 cars.
It is often requested by airlines that passengers do not take any photographs or video of the runway. This is because of a Hellenic Air Force base which operates at the airport

Airlines
Airlines providing domestic flights into and out of Heraklion Airport are Olympic Airways, Aegean Airways and Sky Express. There are also domestic flights to and from the
islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Paros and Rhodes, and of course to the major airports of Athens and Thessaloniki.
Heraklion Airport also hosts charter flights from many European countries, mainly the UK, Germany, Italy, Russia and Romania.

Heraklion is host to a vast number of international airlines serving numerous destinations.
However .... the majority of these are seasonal charters.
Therefore if you are travelling out of season you may have to consider travelling from an alternative airport or flying into Greece to an major hub like Athens and
then taking an internal flight to Crete.
Olympic and Sky Express offer the majority of internal flights.

Airline Lounges
There is a vIP Lounge in the check in area

Terminals

Facilities

Restrooms / Toilets
There are a large number of high standard toilet facilities throughout the terminal.
Baby changing facilities are available.

Disabled facilities / Medical Facilities
Facilities for disabled people include reserved parking spaces, ramps and toilets that are easily accessible to wheelchair users.

Business facilities
A VIP lounge is located in the check-in area, but there are no conference or business facilities as such at the airport.

Baggage
There are four handling agents at the airport, and each one has its own lost and found service

Shops and restaurants
There are two duty-free shops, located in the departure areas for Schengen and non-Schengen countries. There is also a kiosk selling a variety of products
including spirits, chocolates, newspapers and cigarettes.

Schengen
The Schengen Visa has made traveling between its 15 European member countries much easier and less bureaucratic.
Traveling on a Schengen Visa means that the visa holder can travel to any (or all) member countries using one single visa, thus avoiding the hassle and expense of obtaining
individual visas for each country. This is particularly beneficial for persons who wish to visit several European countries on the same trip.
The Schengen countries are ..
Austria, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and The Netherlands (Holland)
There is one restaurant and six snack-bars at the airport.

There is one restaurant and six snack-bars at the airport.

Other services
Money and communications There is an ATM available in the departures area. Several payphones are available.
Heraklion Airport offers passengers use of a free Wi-Fi connection. Computers and free Internet use are provided at the Everest restaurants in the airport.
There are also Duty-Free shops for cheap deals on the upper floor.
There are also information desks, banks and an exchange bureau at the airport to meet all your immediate customer needs

Country Information
Crete is the largest of the Greek islands and one of the most popular holiday destinations in the country. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city
of Heraklion (port and airport),while charter flights to Heraklion were last year 20% of the total of charter flights in Greece.

In sum more than two million tourists visited Crete last year. This increase in tourism is reflected on the number of hotel beds, which increased in Crete by
53% while in the rest of Greece the increase was 25%.

Today the tourism infrastructure in Crete caters to all tastes. There is accommodation of every possible category, from large luxury hotels with all the
facilities (swimming pools, sports and recreation facilities etc.), to smaller family owned apartments, to camping facilities.
Visitors can arrive at the island through two international airports in Heraklion and Hania, or by boat to the ports of Heraklion, Hania, Rethimno and Agios Nikolaos.

Crete is one of the 13 regions into which Greece is divided. It is the largest island in Greece and the second largest (after Cyprus) of the East Mediterranean.
Crete has an elongated shape 260 km from east to west and 60 km at its widest, although the island is narrower at certain points, such as in the region
close to Ierapetra where it has a width of only 12 km. It covers an area of 8,336 km² and has a coastline of 1046 km.

Heraklion is the largest urban centre in Crete, the capital of the region and the economic centre of the island. The first European civilisation, the Minoan civilisation,
flourished on this land 5000 years ago.

The conquering of Constantinopole by the Franks in 1204, left Crete under the sovereignty of the Venetians until 1669. During this period, Heraklion experienced significant
cultural growth and became the capital of the Regno di Candia. However, all this cultural and spiritual growth came to a sudden end in 1669 with the invasion of
Crete by the Turks. Crete became autonomous in 1897, to be united with Greece in 1913.

To the north Crete borders with the Sea of Crete, to the south it is bordered by the Libyan Sea, to the west the Myrtoon Sea, to the east the Karpathion Sea.
Its population is 650,000 people (as of 2005). The island lies approximately 160 km south of the Greek mainland.

Crete is extremely mountainous and is defined by a high mountain range crossing it from West to East, formed by three different groups of mountains. These are:

¦White Mountains or Lefka Ori (2,452 m high)
¦Idi range (Psiloritis (35.18° N 24.82° E) 2,456 m)
¦Dikti mountains (2,148 m high)
¦Kedros (1,777 m high)
¦Thripti (1489 m)
These mountains gifted Crete with fertile plateaus like Lasithi, Omalos and Nidha, caves like Diktaion and Idaion cave, and gorges
like the famous Gorge of Samaria. The protected area of the Samaria Gorge is the home of kri-kri. Cretan mountains and gorges are refuges of the endangered
spieces of Lammergeier (Gypaetus barbatus).

Speed Limits
Many country roads have posted speed limits of 50 kilometers per hour (kph) which is about 30 miles per hour (mph).
On larger roads the speed limit might be 70 On four lane highways the speed limit is usually 100 kph and on the super highways (the National Road)
the speed limit is 120 kph (75 mph).

Side of the road
Drive on the right hand side of the road

Alcohol mg/ml
0.5 mg per ml

Time zone:
GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October)

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