Rhodes International Airport "Diagoras" Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Ρόδου "Διαγόρας» |
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner | Greek state | ||||||||||
Operator | Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (until 15/3/2017) | ||||||||||
Serves | Rodos | ||||||||||
Location | Paradisi | ||||||||||
Hub for | Olympic Air | ||||||||||
Focus city for | Aegean Airlines | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 6 m / 19 ft | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 36°24′19.51″N 28°05′10.29″E / 36.4054194°N 28.0861917°ECoordinates: 36°24′19.51″N 28°05′10.29″E / 36.4054194°N 28.0861917°E | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Location of airport in Greece | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2016) | |||||||||||
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Runway Statistics
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Passengers | 5,007,159 |
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Passenger traffic change | 9.3% |
Aircraft movements | 35,889 |
Aircraft movements change | 4.2% |
Rhodes International Airport, "Diagoras" (Greek: Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Ρόδου, "Διαγόρας") or Diagoras International Airport (IATA: RHO, ICAO: LGRP) is located on the West side of the island of Rhodes in Greece. The facility is located just north of the village Paradisi, about 14 km southwest of the capital city, Rodos. Rhodes International Airport was the fourth busiest airport in Greece as of 2016, with 5,007,159 passengers utilizing the airport.
Civil aviation on Rhodes started after the second world war, on the location of the nearby military Rhodes Maritsa Airport. This was the island's main airport until 1980, when the new Rhodes International Airport was opened. The need for a new facility was big, as the 'old' Maritsa airport did not meet the needs for a modern civil airport.
The new "Diagoras" airport was built in 1977. It was decided that, on this location, it would meet the needs of the island better.
Over the passing years, many improvements have been made to the airport, like expansion of taxiways, platform and airport buildings. The most recent upgrade is the new passenger terminal, which opened in 2005, to better accommodate the growing amount of charters and passengers. The airport's plants currently cover a total area of 60,000 m2
In 2015, Rhodes Airport was closed for 14 hours after a 'sinkhole' appeared on the runway. Flights were diverted to Athens and the runway was fixed and reopened shortly afterwards.
In December 2015 the privatisation of Rhodes International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement between the Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture and the state privatisation fund. "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Rhodes International Airport) for 40 years as of autumn 2016.
The airport's single runway direction is 070/250, having a length of 3,306 meters and a width of 60 meters. There are six taxiways connecting the runway with the terminal.