Kastelli Airport

Kasteli Airport (ICAO: LGTL) is a mixed-use public/military airport located south-east of Heraklion, in Kasteli on the Greek island of Crete. It started operating in 1940 and it now has a single runway with a length of 2,450m. The airport is used by F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force's 133 Combat Group. The Ariadne Airport Group consortium, consisting of the GEK Terna in partnership with the Indian GMR Group has been selected to develop, operate and manage a new international airport on this site as a replacement for the existing Heraklion International Airport.

It is planned that the new airport will be situated on the south western side of Kasteli Hellenic Air Force Base, from which the air force currently operates F-16 Fighting Falcon jet fighters. The idea was first proposed in 1986 by then-Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. The project has officially entered the implementation phase, and tenders have been invited. The new airport was planned to become operational in 2014. The existing airport at Heraklion will be closed and an area of 278 hectares (687 acres) there will be returned to local communities for a large urban regeneration plan.

The creation of the new airport will require new road, water and sanitation works, as well as the transfer of settlements located within the proposed runway zone (Archangelos, Roussochoria). The construction of a 17 km road will connect the airport with Motorway 90 (A90) along the north coast of Crete, in the neighbourhood of Chersonissos. When finished, the distance from the city of Heraklion to the new airport will be approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi). Complaints have been filed for lack of a new road linking the new airport to the south coast of Crete.

The new airport will be constructed over an area of 600 hectares (1482 acres), adjacent to the current military airport in Kasteli. It will have a runway 3,800 metres (12,467 ft) long to accommodate larger aircraft than can presently be operated into Heraklion airport. An additional area of 22 hectares (54 acres) is reserved for commercial activity south-west of the new airport. This is a very large project with a budget of €1.2 billion for construction costs alone, and together with purchase costs including loans and other expenses, will reach €1.5 billion.