Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Chania International Airport, known locally as Daskalogiannis after the 18th-century Cretan rebel leader, is a joint civil-military airport on the Akrotiri peninsula overlooking Souda Bay, some 14 kilometres from the city of Chania on Crete. Operated by Fraport Greece, it combines a busy seasonal airline schedule with an active Hellenic Air Force presence, and offers a sim pilot a long, ILS-equipped runway set against dramatic coastal and mountain scenery.
Chania International Airport, named Daskalogiannis after the Cretan revolutionary leader who fought Ottoman rule in the 18th century, sits on the Akrotiri peninsula close to Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete. It is a joint civil-military aerodrome, operated commercially by Fraport Greece while also serving as an active Hellenic Air Force base, which gives it an unusual character among Greek regional airports and makes it a worthwhile study for any simulator pilot planning a flight to western Crete.
The airport lies near Souda Bay on the Akrotiri peninsula, about 14 kilometres from the city of Chania, in western Crete, Greece.
Chania has two parallel hard-surfaced runways, both lit. The longer pair, 11R/29L, measures 10,986 feet, while the second, 11/29, measures 10,971 feet and carries an ILS on runway 29, giving instrument approach capability from that direction.
Chania Radio provides air-ground service on 563.7 MHz. Approach can be reached on 118.125 MHz, Ground on 121.7 MHz, and Tower on 121.1 MHz. Additional frequencies associated with the field's military operations include 25.24 MHz (Ranger Base Ops), 35.94 MHz (Base Ops / PMSV) and 27.895 MHz (Metro Post / Bull Pen). Runway 29 is served by an ILS.
Civil aviation for western Crete was originally handled at Maleme airfield, dating from the end of the Second World War, until 1959, when the activity was transferred to the military airfield at Souda, the site of today's Chania International Airport. International flights began in 1974, and growing traffic led to the construction of a new terminal, completed in 1996 with a design capacity of 1.35 million passengers a year. In 2000 the airport was officially named after Daskalogiannis. Throughout this development the airfield has continued to be used intensively as a military base by the Hellenic Air Force, reflecting its dual civil-military status. In December 2015 the Greek state signed a 40-year concession with the Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture covering Chania and thirteen other regional Greek airports, with the agreement taking effect from 11 April 2017; Fraport Greece subsequently carried out terminal and apron improvements from 2018 onward. On 10 June 2018, Air Force One, carrying US President Donald Trump, made a refuelling stop at Chania while en route from the G7 summit in Quebec to the meeting with Kim Jong-un in Singapore.
Chania International Airport is operated by Fraport Greece and handles scheduled and seasonal charter services from a wide range of European carriers, including Aegean Airlines, Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2.com, British Airways, Eurowings and others, alongside its continuing role as an active Hellenic Air Force airfield.