Airport of Thessaloniki
The airport has been in operation since 1930 and is the third busiest airport in Greece, handling 3.9 million travelers each year.
It is the main airport of northern Greece, serving the city of Thessaloniki (the second most populated city in Greece) and the surrounding region, and in particular during the summer period the seaside resorts of Chalkidiki.
Airport Terminal
The airport terminal has three floors. The ground floor is divided into two sectors; international extra-Schengen arrivals and local and intra-Schengen arrivals. The first floor is used for departures and also houses various shops, restaurants, bars and airline offices. The second floor houses two restaurants and a few bars that overlook the airport runways.
History
During the First World War, a field of flights existed at the location of the current airport of Thessaloniki “Makedonia”. This field of flights was also used during the Second World War. In 1941, its dimensions were 2286 × 274 m. During the period of occupation of Greece by the Axis forces, major works were carried out at the airport, including the construction of a 600 meter long runway. The civil airport has been operating in this place since 1948.
Tracks
In 1950, the existing track 10/28, then 1,800 meters long, was paved while in 1952 it was extended by 200 meters. At the same time, the construction of the airport runway 17/35 (current orientation: 16/34) was put out to tender and the work was completed the following year. In 1958, NATO funded the reconstruction and extension of runway 10/28 to 2,440 meters, its current length. In 1972, the other runway 16/34 also obtained its current length of 2,400 meters by expansion over the sea. In 2004, taxiway F, parallel to the main runway 10/28, was put into service.
Other facilities
In 1994, the premises assigned to pilot training equipped with a flight simulator, and the Olympic Aviation maintenance hangar were built. As for the freight terminal, it was built during the 1990s.
Construction of the new terminal
The construction of the new terminal includes the new terminal building with an area of 115,000 m2 and a capacity of 8 million passengers per year and 2,800 passengers at peak times (departures / arrivals), the new Class E and F parking areas and the maneuvering area for 36 aircraft and the main and secondary road network as well as the car parks.
Parking areas
The first parking area in front of the 1952 building was clad in metal plates. Simultaneously with the construction of the new terminal of the airport of Thessaloniki in 1965, the new parking area was built on its current location. In 1996, work was completed on the parking area of the goods terminal, with a capacity of four places.
In June 2000, the parking area between the passenger terminal and the freight terminal was brought into service, with a surface area of 40,000 m2 and a capacity of five spaces.
In 2004, the new extension of the parking area in front of the flying club was completed, covering an area of 26,000 m2, while in 2005 the 30,000 m2 extension of the parking area of the cargo planes. Following these works, the surface of the airport parking area amounts to 215,000 m2 with a capacity of 22 places.
Passenger buildings
The terminal’s first passenger building of Thessaloniki airport was built in 1952 in air base 113, and was equipped with a 9 m2 control room on its roof. On September 26, 1965, the new terminal building was inaugurated in its current location, while the first control tower was built on its terrace.
Between 1968 and 1973 this building was enlarged by gaining a second floor. The track has also extended. A third phase of extension took place between 1977 and 1978. During the same period, the building of the current independent complex which houses air traffic control was built following the collapse of the old control tower. because of the 1978 earthquake.
The next expansion of the passenger building (fourth phase) was carried out in two stages, and the work started in 1991 and 1993 respectively. The European Capital of Culture – Thessaloniki 1997 organization carried out embellishment, renewal, modernization and restructuring of the premises of the building[3]. The free area of the building in 1997 was 12,500 m2.
The terminal of the airport took on its current form following extensions to the east and west which were completed in November 2000 and June 2003 respectively, during which 19,000 m2 were added to the pre-existing buildings. The extension to the west (6,000 m2) included the expansion of the overseas departures area (new extra-schengen room) and the expansion of the duty-free shop, but also the creation of new offices for administration of the airport of Thessaloniki and a new health post.
The expansion of 13,280 m2 to the east (to the control tower building) provided the airport with a new check-in hall, new waiting areas, several offices for airline administration airlines, the extension of baggage transport and distribution conveyors on the ground floor and the reconstruction of the airport restaurant. The area of the terminal building is currently 32,000 m2. At the same time, from 2004 to 2006 traffic was given the new road junction in front of the entrance to the terminal and the new garages for private or rental cars, coaches and the taxi stand.
Passenger and freight traffic
Between 1994 and 2010, Thessaloniki International Airport saw an increase in passenger transport of 76%, from 2.2 million in 1994 to 3.9 million in 2010. Between 2003 and 2009 the airport experienced an increase in passenger traffic of up to 19%. The actual number of travelers amounted to 4.2 million people, a record number for Thessaloniki airport. However, this number decreased the following two years to 3.9 million passengers.
In addition to passengers, during 2010 the airport handled 8,200 tonnes of goods, the quantity of which marked a significant drop since 1997 when the airport handled 21,4000.