Samos International Airport

Samos International Airport (also known as Aristarchos) (IATA: SMI, ICAO: LGSM) is an airport on Samos Island, Greece.

Samos International Airport "Aristarchos of Samos"

Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Σάμου "Αρίσταρχος ο Σάμιος»
Summary
Airport typePublic
Owner/OperatorFraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture
ServesVathy
LocationSamos Island, Greece
Elevation AMSL19 ft / 6 m
Coordinates37°41′24″N 026°54′42″E
Websitesmi-airport.gr
Map
SMI
Location of airport in Greece
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 6,890 2,100 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers467,395
Passenger traffic change 3.9%
Aircraft movements5,976
Aircraft movements change 1.5%
Sources:HCAA,[1] World Aero Data[2]

The airport is named after Aristarchos of Samos, an ancient astronomer and mathematician, and lies within 5 km from the nearby town of Pythagorio. The airport features a single short runway serving both arrivals and departures. The airports surroundings leave little room for error or mistake on the behalf of the pilots – with nearby mountains and sea at the end of the short runway. There are often strong Meltemi winds blowing from the north during the summer months which further contribute to the difficulty of the landing. There is only one terminal in the airport. There are five boarding gates, none of which have jet-bridges. Passenger facilities are split across two floors and include a duty-free shop and a small café.

History

The airport first operated in May 1976[3] and during the late 1990s/early 2000s, the terminal was renovated – the capacity of the airport was increased to deal with increasing passenger numbers and the terminal was renovated.

In December 2015, the privatisation of Samos 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.[4] "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters.[5] According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Samos International Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.

Future investment

On 22 March 2017, Fraport Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including the International Airport of Samos.[6]

The following summarizes the enhancement changes that will be started in October 2017 and will be implemented for Samos International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan until 2021:

  • General clean-up
  • Improving lighting, marking of airside areas.
  • Upgrading sanitary facilities
  • Enhancing services and offering a new free Internet connection (WiFi)
  • Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airports
  • Expanding and remodeling the current terminal
  • New fire station
  • Reorganizing the airport apron area
  • 19 percent increase in the total size of the terminal at 9,605m2
  • 40 percent increase in the number of check-in counters (from 10 to 14)
  • 25 percent increase in the number of departure gates (from 4 to 5)
  • 50 percent increase in the number of security lanes (from 2 to 3)

Airlines and destinations
Check-in hall
View of the airport from the west
AirlinesDestinations
Austrian Airlines Seasonal: Vienna [7]
Aviolet Seasonal charter: Belgrade[8]
Blue Panorama Airlines Seasonal: Bologna
Condor Seasonal: Berlin–Schönefeld (begins 30 June 2020),[9] Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Munich,[10] Stuttgart [11]
Corendon Dutch Airlines Seasonal: Amsterdam
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zurich
Eurowings Seasonal: Dusseldorf, Vienna
Jet Time Seasonal charter: Billund,[12] Copenhagen[12]
Neos Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa,[13] Verona
Olympic Air Athens, Thessaloniki
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal charter: Gothenburg, Oslo–Gardermoen, Stavanger,[14] Stockholm–Arlanda
Sky Express Athens, Chios, Lemnos, Mytilene, Rhodes, Thessaloniki
Smartwings[15] Seasonal: Prague
Smartwings Poland Seasonal charter: Katowice[16]
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam
TUI Airways Seasonal: London–Gatwick
TUI fly Belgium Seasonal: Brussels
TUI fly Netherlands Seasonal: Amsterdam
TUI fly Nordic Seasonal charter: Gothenburg,[17] Oslo–Gardermoen,[14] Stockholm–Arlanda[17]
Volotea Seasonal: Venice

Traffic figures

The data are from Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)[18] until 2016, and data from 2017 and later are from the official website of the airport.[19]

Year Passengers
Domestic International Total
1994 121.370 296.640 418.010
1995 132.269 282.192 414.461
1996 141.864 264.430 406.294
1997 149.564 263.334 412.898
1998 146.056 277.498 423.554
1999 189.132 314.704 503.836
2000 180.446 287.948 468.394
2001 154.004 304.686 458.690
2002 141.362 283.488 424.850
2003 142.212 266.835 409.047
2004 153.067 240.562 393.629
2005 155.534 236.593 392.127
2006 190.879 260.039 450.918
2007 216.605 265.382 481.987
2008 204.873 266.993 471.866
2009 216.174 230.968 447.142
2010 193.530 217.035 410.565
2011 172.672 236.048 408.720
2012 149.664 214.984 364.648
2013 136.641 207.076 343.717
2014 151.107 245.201 396.308
2015 149.302 253.848 403.150
2016 153.240 193.540 346.780
2017 161.313 248.972 410.331
2018 159.763 290.128 449.891
2019 168.892 298.503 467.395
2020 (May) 34.791 12 34.803

Accidents and incidents

  • On 3 August 1989, Olympic Aviation Flight 545 crashed into Mount Kerkis while on approach to Samos Airport. All 31 passengers and all three crew members died in the accident.[20]

See also

References

  1. "SAMOS AIRPORT "ARISTARCHOS OF SAMOS"". ypa.gr. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. http://www.tornosnews.gr/en/tourism-businesses/new-investments/13859-greece-signs-privatization-of-14-regional-airports-with-germany-s-fraport-for-e1-2-bln.html
  5. http://uk.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-privatisation-idUKL8N1431P720151214
  6. "Fraport Greece’s Development Plan for the New Era at the Greek Regional Airports", fraport-greece.com
  7. Liu, Jim (8 November 2019). "Austrian resumes 2 Greek leisure routes in S20". routesonline.com.
  8. "Charter schedule" (PDF). aviolet.rs.
  9. Liu, Jim (7 January 2020). "Condor S20 Short-Haul network additions as of 06JAN20". routesonline.com.
  10. Liu, Jim. "Condor S20 Short-Haul network additions as of 06JAN20". Routesonline. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. "Timetable".
  12. "Only Flight". tui.dk.
  13. Liu, Jim (2 January 2019). "Neos schedules new European routes in S19". routesonline.com.
  14. "Only Flight". tui.no.
  15. "SmartWings Contact". smartwings.com.
  16. "air and charter tickets". itaka.pl.
  17. "Only Flight". tui.se.
  18. "SAMOS AIRPORT ARISTARCHOS OF SAMOS", ypa.gr
  19. "SAMOS AIRPORT (SMI) - 2017 vs 2016", smi-airport.gr
  20. ASN Aircraft Accident Shorts 330-200 SX-BGE
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