Story
The HER timeline
From its early days to becoming Crete's main gateway and the second-busiest airport in Greece.
- 1939
Airport opens
Heraklion's airport begins civil operations at its site just east of the city.
- 2017
Regional airports go private, HER does not
Fourteen Greek regional airports, Chania on Crete among them, pass to a private concession. Heraklion is not part of the deal and stays under state operation.
- 2020
Pandemic and recovery
Air travel to Crete drops sharply during COVID-19 before tourism traffic rebounds strongly.
- 2024
Record year
Heraklion handles about 9.4 million passengers — its busiest year and the second-busiest airport in Greece after Athens.
- Soon
A new airport for Crete
A replacement airport at Kastelli is under construction to eventually succeed the Nikos Kazantzakis terminal.