Hello everyone and welcome to the guide for the Friday Night Flight in Greece. In order to have the best possible experience, I will show you not only the country with all its peculiarities, but also the best routes, the airports and much more. Since there is rarely a lot of traffic with present ATC in Greece, especially on the islands, this is your opportunity to enjoy Greece in all its glory. Buckle up and get ready for one of the most special countries in the world.
About Greece
Greece is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approximately 10.7 million. Athens, the oldest capital in the world, is the largest city, followed by Thessaloniki.
It has the 11th longest coastline in the world, featuring many islands, of which 227 from 3054 are inhabited. 80% of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak. It’s considered the cradle of Western civilisation, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and the Olympic Games.
Greece consists of many islands, which limits the size of airports and also the size of the aircraft. Fraport Greece operates all airports and renovates them to make them suitable for tourism in the future. I will show you the Top 3 airports in Greece that you must see.
Athens Airport – LGAV (HUB)
Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos is the largest international airport in Greece, serving the city of Athens and region of Attica. It began operation on 28 March 2001 (in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics) and is the main base of Aegean Airlines and Aegean Virtual. As this airport is the HUB of the event, you can expect a lot of traffic. There are two runways and although 03R/21L is closer to the terminal, I can recommend 03L/21R to you. The runways are parallel and are one of the longest in Europe.
Thessaloniki Airport – LGTS
Thessaloniki, officially Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia” is an international airport serving Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece. It is located 13 km southeast of the city.
The airport is the second-largest airport in the country after Athens International. It is the main airport of Northern Greece and apart from the city of Thessaloniki it also serves the popular tourist destination of Chalkidiki and the surrounding cities of Central Macedonia. The Athens–Thessaloniki route is the tenth busiest in the EU. Thessaloniki is tried to be covered all the time and as a second hub to ensure a good traffic flow.
Skiathos Airport - LGSK
Skiathos Alexandros Papadiamantis is an airport on the island of Skiathos, Greece. The runway is characterised as ‘short and narrow’. Because of the uneven terrain on the island of Skiathos, Skiathos Airport was created by reclaiming land from the sea between Skiathos island and the smaller island of Lazareta effectively joining the two islands into one larger island. It is named after Alexandros Papadiamantis, a Greek novelist who happened to be an island local.
The airport’s short runway and its proximity to an adjacent public road have made it a popular destination for planespotters. It is often compared to Princess Juliana International Airport on Saint Maarten since both airports offer the public an ability to legally experience landing approaches and takeoffs at very close range.
As you may have noticed, the runways near the sea are quite short. So try to keep your weight low, but take enough fuel with you, as smaller airports can quickly become overcrowded. In case of an emergency, it is recommended to find an alternative airport to land
As already mentioned, the Athens – Thessaloniki route is the most popular in the country, but there are other beautiful routes as well. Here are 8 routes that I can recommend. These are really well thought out and also exist in real life.
| Route | Airline | Flight Time |
|---|---|---|
| LGAV – LGTS Thessaloniki | Aegean | 00:55H |
| LGAV – LGIR Heraklion | Aegean | 00:50H |
| LGAV – LGSK Skiathos | Aegean | 00:40H |
| LGTS – LGAV Athens | Aegean | 00:55H |
| LGTS – LGRP Rhodes | Aegean | 01:05H |
| ENGM Oslo – LGAV | SAS / Nowegian | 03:55H |
| EFHK Helsinki – LGAV | Aegean / Nowegian | 03:45H |
| KJFK New York – LGAV | Delta | 11:00H |
Greece belongs to the countries with the most sights in the world. Due to the sights there is a lot of tourism. This has the consequence that in summer the tourism is twice as high as the country has inhabitants. Through the global scenery you can see the most important ones and discover every corner of the country. Here are a few pictures.
Olympus - highest mountain in Greece
Techniti Limni Polifitou - largest lake
Corinth Canal - halved greece
Chalkidiki - three fingers
You will very likely discover these sights while flying over them. They are all near Athens and Thessaloniki.
I hope you enjoyed the information and you could take something with you for your next trip. If you have any questions now, don’t hesitate to write me, no matter what kind of question you have.
I wish you all a safe journey, have fun and enjoy your day!
Take care, Georgios
IFATC and Aegean VA staff