Sitia Airport (IATA: JSH, ICAO: LGST) is a small community airport in the region Mponta of Sitia Municipality, on the eastern part of Crete in Greece. The facility is serving the city of Sitia. The airport is located 1 km north/northwest of the city center.

Sitia Municipal Airport

Δημοτικός Αερολιμένας Σητείας «Βιτσέντζος Κορνάρος»
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMunicipality of Sitia
OperatorHCAA
LocationSitia, Lasithi
Elevation AMSL376 ft / 115 m
Coordinates35°12′57.99″N 26°06′04.77″E / 35.2161083°N 26.1013250°E / 35.2161083; 26.1013250
Map
JSH is located in Greece
JSH
JSH
Location of airport in Greece
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
05/23 6,804 2,074 Asphalt
Statistics (2018)
Passengers61,877
Passenger traffic changeIncrease 90.5%
Aircraft movements1,730
Aircraft movements changeIncrease 36.0%
Sources: HCAA[1][2]

History edit

Sitia Airport began operations on 7 June 1984 when the first aircraft landed on the facility. This was an Olympic Airways' Dornier Do-228, registration SX-BHF. This was a test flight, to test the airport and its handling facilities. The airport was officially opened 2 days later, on 9 June 1984. Its official name became Δημοτικός Αερολιμένας Σητείας, literally Municipal Airport of Sitia. At 10:30 the same day, the first official flight, OAL 7001, arrived. On 13 June, the first flight from Rhodes arrived, followed by a flight from the neighbouring island Karpathos the next day.

On 20 May 1993, the airport's services moved to a newly built terminal building and control tower. The new installations cover an area of 550 m2. A new runway, oriented 05/23 and with a length of 2,074 meters was completed in May 2003. Also, 3 new taxiways and 2 new aircraft stands have been constructed. Additionally, the old terminal building has been replaced by a temporary building, covering an area of 1,000 m2.[1][3] On 13 January 13, 2016, the airport's services moved to a new terminal building. The new building has an area of 7,500 m2.

Airlines and destinations edit

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Sitia Airport:

AirlinesDestinations
easyJet Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa (begins 29 June 2024),[4] Naples (begins 24 June 2024)[5]
Olympic Air Athens, Karpathos, Kasos, Rhodes[6]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal charter: Copenhagen,[7]Oslo
Sky Express Alexandroupoli, Preveza/Lefkada

Statistics edit

Annual passenger traffic at JSH airport. See Wikidata query.

Annual Passenger Throughput[1]

Year Flights Passengers Change in Passengers (%)
2001 93 1,945  15.1
2002 42 1,762  9.4
2003 666 13,144  646.0
2004 411 16,731  27,3
2005 781 19,283  15.3
2006 940 22,902  18.8
2007 1,804 35,218  53.8
2008 1,764 39,711  12.8
2009 1,714 38,195  3.8
2010 1,805 38,859  1.7
2011 1,786 39,604  1.9
2012 2,024 37,801  4.6
2013 2,064 35,962  4.9
2014 1,978 34,873  3.0
2015 1,924 27,015  22.5
2016 1,766 20,903  22.6
2017 1,254 32,479  55.4
2018 1,730 61,877  95.0
*2019 528 16,425
  • Period: Jan - Jun

Ground transportation edit

By car the airport can be reached via the main road along the North coast. From Aghios Nikolaos, heading west, the main road transforms into the National Road of Crete. The City of Sitia is just a few minutes drive away from the airport. Besides rental cars, there are taxis available to any destination on Crete. There are no bus connections available from the airport.[1]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "SITIA AIRPORT". ypa.gr. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Μετονομασία Αεροδρομίου Σητείας σε Δημοτικό Αερολιμένα "Βιτσέντζος Κορνάρος"". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  3. ^ greek-airports.gr Airport History
  4. ^ "Easyjet aggiunge nuove rotte estive per Creta e per le Canarie per l'estate 2024". 23 January 2024.
  5. ^ https://www.ilgiorno.it/milano/economia/easyjet-voli-malpensa-cxm9yi3z
  6. ^ "Ξεκινούν νέες πτήσεις από το αεροδρόμιο Σητείας - Για ποιούς προορισμούς". 2 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Fly".

External links edit