Athens International Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Athens International Airport "Elefthérios Venizélos" Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών "Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος"
Logo of Athens Airport
Aerial photo of AIA
IATA: ATH – ICAO: LGAV
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Greek Government
Operator		Athens International Airport S.A
Serves		Athens, Greece
Location		Spata, Greece
Elevation AMSL		308 ft / 94 m
Coordinates		37°56′11″N 23°56′40″E / 37.93639°N 23.94444°E / 37.93639; 23.94444Coordinates: 37°56′11″N 23°56′40″E / 37.93639°N 23.94444°E / 37.93639; 23.94444
Website		www.aia.gr
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
03R/21L	13,123	4,000	Asphalt
03L/21R	12,467	3,800	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Passengers			16,466,491
Aircraft operations			199,418
Cargo			122,195,965 kg (120,266 LT; 134,698 ST)
Sources: Passengers[1] Flights[2] Cargo[3]

Athens International Airport (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Αθηνών, Diethnís Aeroliménas Athinón) known as "Elefthérios Venizélos", Ελευθέριος Βενιζέλος) (IATA: ATH, ICAO: LGAV), which began operation on 29 March 2001, is the civilian airport that serves the city of Athens and the region of Attica. The airport is the major hub and base for Olympic Airlines, Greece's state-owned airline, as well as for Aegean Airlines. The airport serves more than 16 million travellers annually and was named after the Greek politician Eleftherios Venizelos. The airport has become increasingly popular as a gateway to Asia and the Middle East. The Airport is also known for its continual investment in pioneering technology, and is Airbus A380 ready, having been certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration.^[4]

Contents 1 General information 2 Ground transport 2.1 Road 2.2 Taxi 2.3 Rail 2.4 Bus 3 Services and facilities 4 Awards 5 Airline lounges 6 Robotic security 7 Terminals 7.1 Main Terminal 7.2 Satellite Terminal 8 Incidents and accidents 9 Airlines and destinations 9.1 Cargo airlines 10 References 11 External links

[edit] General information

The airport was opened in 2001 to replace the now-closed Athens (Ellinikon) International Airport. The airport is located between the towns of Markopoulo, Koropi, Spata and Loutsa, about 20 km (12 mi) to the east of central Athens (30 km (19 mi) by road, due to intervening hills). The airport is named after Elefthérios Venizélos, the prominent Cretan political figure and Prime Minister of Greece, who made an outstanding contribution to the development of Greek aviation and the Hellenic Air Force in the 1930s.

The airport currently has two terminals: the Main Terminal, and the Satellite Terminal accessible by a foot-tunnel from the Main Terminal. It has two runways that are each approximately 4 km (2 mi) in length. The airport was developed by public-private partnership with Greece holding 55% of the shares.

The airport is designed to be upgraded over the ensuing years in order to accommodate the increase in air travel, and its upgrades are planned in a six-phase framework. The first (current) phase allows the airport to accommodate 16 million passengers a year; the sixth phase will allow the airport to accommodate as many as 50 million passengers a year. In 2008, the airport handled 16.466.479 passengers, -0.4% than in 2007.^[1]

It is also an airport that has received approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency^[4] and the Federal Aviation Administration^[4] for take-offs and landings of the biggest passenger jet worldwide, the Airbus A380.^[4]

Athens International Airport is also among the busiest 25 European airports.

In 2005 and 2006, the Airport was awarded the Skytrax award for best airport in Southern Europe.

[edit] Ground transport

[edit] Road

The airport is accessible by the Attiki Odos toll highway. The part of the highway which leads directly to the airport is toll free and is accessible through Koropi and Markopoulo Mesogaias. The cost of the toll is €2.70.

[edit] Taxi

Taxis don't have a fixed price to and from the airport. However, there is a standard airport fee (€3.20 to and from the airport), a standard luggage fee (€0.30 per luggage) and the cost of tolls if Attiki Odos is used. The average price from and to the city centre during the day is €25, and €40 during the night hours (00:00-05:00).

[edit] Rail

A rail station immediately adjacent to the airport terminal (and accessible by an elevated walkway) was completed in time for the 2004 Olympics. The station is served by the Proastiakos suburban train service. The ticket costs €6 for 1 person, €10 for 1 person round trip (valid for 48 hours), €10 for 2 persons and €15 for 3 persons. Children pay 50% off the normal ticket. The average travel time from the airport to the city centre is 50 minutes.

[edit] Bus

Six bus lines (X92, X93, X94, X95, X96, X97) are available 24/7 at the lower level of the terminal. During early morning hours, they leave and reach the airport every 30 minutes, whereas in the afternoon and evening hours, the frequency is 15 minutes. The bus ticket can be purchased onboard or at the ticket stand next to the station and costs €3.20.

[edit] Services and facilities

Athens International Airport also boasts many services and facilities for the convenience of all passengers. Services and Facilities include:

• Children's Creative Entertainment Centre (Free of charge supervised play area)
• ATM's (Greek Alpha and Emporiki Banks)
• Currency Exchange Outlets
• WSW Skycap Services (Baggage Hauling and Porter Service)
• Secure Bag Protection (Baggage Wrapping Service)
• Massage Chairs
• Hair Salon
• Travel Agencies
• Car Rentals (Avis, Budget Rent a Car, Europcar, Hertz, Alamo Rent A Car and Sixt)
• Baggage storage service
• Airport business centre
• Airport Hotel (Sofitel Athens Airport)

The airport hotel, Sofitel Athens Airport, is located adjacent to the Main Terminal outside the Extra/Intra Schengen Arrivals Hall. The 5-star hotel features 345 rooms, 13 suites, 2 restaurants, 2 bars, 24-hour room service, conference and meeting rooms, an indoor swimming pool, an indoor sauna and a fitness centre.

[edit] Awards

• European Airport of the Year - 2004
• Skytrax award for best Airport in Southern Europe - 2005,2006 and 2008^[5]
• GreenBuilding Award for its exemplary energy saving figures reflected in the two previous years (2006, 2007) - 2008^[6]

[edit] Airline lounges

Many airline users of Athens International Airport operate luxurious and modern passenger lounges. First and Business Class passengers of the respective airlines and partner alliances can enjoy lounge facilities at the airport. Airline lounges at the airport include:

• Alitalia 'Donatello' Lounge (Can be used by all of the Sky Teams's Airlines Passengers (including Air France-KLM, Delta, Continental, Northwest, Aeroflot, Czech Airlines and Korean Air)
• Goldair Handling CIP Lounge
• Aegean Airlines CIP Lounge
• Lufthansa 'Senator' Lounge (Can be used by all of the Star Alliance Airlines Passengers, including, Thai Airways, United, US Airways)
• Olympic Airlines 'Melina Merkouri' Lounge
• Olympic Airlines 'Aristotelis Onassis' Lounge
• British Airways 'Terraces' Lounge (Can be used by American Airlines and Aer Lingus passengers)
• Swissport 'Executive' Lounge

[edit] Robotic security

The airport is equipped with two robotic systems (robots "Hercules" and "Ulysses") capable of handling suspect devices. They are designed to protect the lives of individuals as well as airport spaces by safely identifying and removing explosives.

Hercules was donated by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. It is a system capable of the safe collection and transportation of explosives for disposal. It is equipped with a spherical shaped tank with a diameter of 120 cm, and two robotic folding arms.

Ulysses is a system worth €94,000, donated by Soukos Robots ABEE. This system was manufactured in order to serve as a supplement to Hercules. It can access more difficult areas than Hercules such as toilets, buses or aircraft. It is a light but highly efficient robot, equipped with a shock-absorbing system allowing movements on rough surfaces.

[edit] Terminals

Athens International Airport has two terminal buildings, the Main Terminal and the Satellite Terminal. All check-in desks are located in the Main Terminal, and the Satellite terminal is easily accessible through an underground link complete with moving walkways.

[edit] Main Terminal

The Main Terminal Building handles the majority of Extra and Intra Schengen flights, it has three separate levels, one for arrivals, one for departures and a food court level complete with a view of the eastern runway.

[edit] Satellite Terminal

The Satellite Terminal handles Extra Schengen flights only. It has two levels, one for arrivals and the other for departures.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

• On August 14, 2005 Helios Airways Flight 522, a Helios Airways Boeing 737-300 registered 5B-DBY crashed en route from Larnaca International Airport, Cyprus to ATH, near Grammatikon, Attica.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Adria Airways	Ljubljana
Aegean Airlines	Alexandroupolis, Barcelona , Berlin-Tegel, Brussels, Bucharest-Otopeni, Cairo, Chania, Chios, Corfu, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Heraklion, Ioannina, Istanbul-Atatürk [begins 9 September], Kavala, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Limnos, London-Stansted, Milan-Malpensa, Munich, Mykonos, Mytilene, Paphos, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rhodes, Rome-Fiumicino, Samos, Santorini, Sofia, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Venice-Marco Polo
Aer Lingus	Dublin
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Aerosvit Airlines	Kiev-Boryspil, Odessa
Air Arabia	Sharjah
AirBaltic	Riga
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air Malta	Malta
Air Moldova	Chişinău
Air One	Naples, Milan-Malpensa
Air Transat	Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson [seasonal]
Albanian Airlines	Tirana
Alitalia	Rome-Fiumicino
Armavia	Yerevan
Athens Airways	Alexandroupolis, Chania, Chios, Heraklion, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kozani, Mykonos, Mytilene, Rhodes, Santorini, Thessaloniki, Zakynthos
Atlant-Soyuz Airlines	Moscow-Vnukovo
Austrian Airlines	Vienna
Baboo	Geneva
Blue1	Helsinki
British Airways	London-Heathrow
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
Bulgaria Air	Sofia
Carpatair	Timişoara
Cimber Sterling	Copenhagen
Continental Airlines	Newark [seasonal]
Cyprus Airways	Larnaca, Paphos
Czech Airlines	Prague
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta [seasonal], New York-JFK
Donbassaero	Donetsk
EasyJet	Berlin-Schönefeld, London-Gatwick, London-Luton, Manchester [begins 5 August], Milan-Malpensa, Paris-Orly, Rome-Fiumicino [begins 15 October]
EgyptAir	Cairo
El Al	Tel Aviv
Emirates	Dubai
Etihad Airways	Abu Dhabi
Eurofly	Bologna, Milan-Malpensa, Naples, Rome-Fiumicino, Verona
Flybaboo	Geneva, Nice
Finnair	Helsinki
Georgian Airways	Tbilisi
Germanwings	Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart
Gulf Air	Bahrain
Hellenic Imperial Airways	Birmingham, Casablanca, Jeddah
Iberia	Madrid
Ilyich-Avia	Mariupol
Iraqi Airways	Baghdad, Stockholm-Arlanda [7]
Izair	Izmir [begins August 20]
Jat Airways	Belgrade
KLM	Amsterdam
Libyan Airlines	Benghazi, Tripoli
LOT Polish Airlines	Kraków, Warsaw
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Lviv Airlines	Lviv
Malév Hungarian Airlines	Budapest
MCA Airlines	Stockholm-Arlanda
Middle East Airlines	Beirut
MyAir	Bari
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Oslo-Rygge, Warsaw
Olympic Airlines	Alexandroupolis, Alexandria, Amsterdam, Astypalaia, Beirut, Belgrade, Berlin-Tegal, Brussels, Bucharest-Otopeni, Cairo, Chania, Chios, Corfu/Kerkyra, Dubai, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Heraklion, Ikaria, Ioannina, Istanbul-Atatürk, Johannesburg, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kithira, Kos, Kozani, Kuwait, Larnaca, Leros, Limnos, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Manchester, Milan-Linate/Malpensa, Milos, Montréal-Trudeau, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Munich, Mykonos, Mytilene, Naxos, New York-JFK, Paros, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Preveza, Rhodes, Rome-Fiumicino, Samos, Santorini, Sitia, Skiathos, Skyros, Sofia, Stuttgart, Syros, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Tirana, Toronto-Pearson, Vienna, Zakynthos
Qatar Airways	Doha
Royal Jordanian	Amman
Saudi Arabian Airlines	Jeddah, Riyadh [seasonal]
Scandinavian Airlines System	Copenhagen, Stockholm-Arlanda
Singapore Airlines	Singapore
SkyEurope	Prague, Vienna
SunExpress	Izmir [begins August 20]
Swiss International Air Lines	Geneva, Zürich
Syrian Arab Airlines	Aleppo, Damascus
TAROM	Bucharest-Otopeni
Thai Airways International	Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi
Transavia.com	Copenhagen
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk
Tunisair	Tunis
US Airways	Philadelphia [seasonal]
Uzbekistan Airways	Tashkent
Viking Airlines	Stockholm-Arlanda
Vueling Airlines	Barcelona

[edit] Cargo airlines

Airlines	Destinations
DHL	Leipzig/Halle
TNT Airways	Liège, Milan-Bergamo

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Athens Airport

• Athens International Airport - Eleftherios Venizelos Official Site
• Airport information for LGAV at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
• LGAV current wind