Rhodes International Airport

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Template:More citations needed Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox airport

Rhodes International Airport "Diagoras" (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Ρόδου "Διαγόρας"), or Diagoras International Airport Template:Airport codes, is located on the West side of the island of Rhodes in Greece. The facility is located just north of the village Paradeisi, about 14 km southwest of the capital city, Rhodes. Rhodes International Airport was the fourth busiest airport in Greece as of 2019, with 5,542,567 passengers utilizing the airport.<ref name=RHOSTAT />

History

File:Flughafen Rhodos im Terminal.jpg
Check-in at Rhodes 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 1977, when the new Rhodes International Airport was opened. A new facility was needed, as the "old" Maritsa airport did not meet the needs for a modern civil airport.Template:Citation needed The new "Diagoras" airport was built in 1977. It was determined that, in this location, it would meet the needs of the island better.Template:Citation needed

Improvements have been made to the airport, like expansion of taxiways, platform and airport buildings. The most recent upgrade is a new passenger terminal, opened in 2005, to accommodate the growing number of charter flights and passengers. The airport's plants currently cover a total area of 60,000 m2<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 21 September 2015, Rhodes Airport was closed for 14 hours after a 'sinkhole' appeared in the runway. Flights were diverted to surrounding airports such as Kos and Heraklion as well as Athens and the runway was fixed and reopened the following day.Template:Citation needed

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Rhodes International Airport) for 40 years as of autumn 2016.

Facilities

Terminal

Rhodes Airport terminal is actually two separate buildings with a joined corridor in the middle. Departures are served both in ground (check-ins, baggage checks) and first floor (passenger screening, gates, shops) while arrivals are served only in ground floor's southern corner where passport control, customs and baggage reclaim operate. Airport does not have air bridges so boarding and disembarking require the use of buses.

Both terminals are and will be under renovations for the next couple of years from Fraport, as a series of chronic problems need to be addressed. Toilets and air conditioning system were first to be fixed while more complicated works including new check in facilities that will eliminate double checks for baggage as well interior remodeling will proceedTemplate:When gradually during low traffic winter months.

The airport also has a police station, a medical clinic, airline and handlers' offices, rent-a-car and tour operators' kiosks, VIP halls, recentlyTemplate:When refurbished duty-free shops, cafes and restaurants.

Runway

The airport's single runway direction is 065/245 degrees (designated as 06/24), having a length of 3,305 meters and a width of 60 meters. There are two taxiways and four taxi links connecting the runway with the apron. The apron with the new pushback configuration can accommodate up to 20 ICAO reference category C or smaller airplanes, simultaneously. Three parking positions have MARS (Multiple Apron Ramp System) capability and can accommodate larger category D and E aircraft, such as the Airbus A330, A340 and A350 and the Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787. There is a small general aviation apron with three dedicated positions for small propelled or jet aircraft.

Future of the airport - Fraport Greece's investment plan

Template:Prose On 22 March 2017, the Fraport-Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including the International Airport of Rhodes.<ref>"Fraport Greece’s Development Plan for the New Era at the Greek Regional Airports" Template:Webarchive, fraport-greece.com</ref>

The following summarizes the enhancement changes that started in November 2017 and will be implemented for Rhodes International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan: Immediate actions that were implemented at the airports as soon as Fraport Greece took over operations and before the launch of the 2017 Summer season included:

  • General clean-up
  • Improving lighting, marking of airside areas.
  • Upgrading sanitary facilities
  • Enhancing services and offering new free Internet connection (WiFi)
  • Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airports
  • Remodeling the current terminal
  • Reorganizing the airport apron area
  • New fire station
  • 13 percent increase in the number of check-in counters (from 40 to 45)
  • 13 percent increase in the number of departure gates (from 16 to 18)
  • 71 percent in the number of security-check lanes (from 7 to 12)
  • 25 percent increase in the number of baggage reclaim belts (from 4 to 5)

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rhodes Airport: Template:Airport-dest-list

Traffic figures

Figures are taken from the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> until 2016 and since 2017 from the official website of the airport.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Year Passengers
Domestic International Total
1994 380,072 2,111,714 2,491,786
1995 Template:Increase419,701 Template:Decrease1,924,922 Template:Decrease2,344,623
1996 Template:Increase477,396 Template:Decrease1,764,121 Template:Decrease2,241,517
1997 Template:Increase559,768 Template:Increase1,955,527 Template:Increase2,515,295
1998 Template:Decrease535,284 Template:Increase2,137,028 Template:Increase2,672,312
1999 Template:Increase638,389 Template:Increase2,653,129 Template:Increase3,291,518
2000 Template:Increase720,560 Template:Increase2,686,490 Template:Increase3,407,050
2001 Template:Decrease682,469 Template:Increase2,745,706 Template:Increase3,428,175
2002 Template:Decrease628,837 Template:Decrease2,601,646 Template:Decrease3,230,483
2003 Template:Increase689,315 Template:Decrease2,476,755 Template:Decrease3,166,070
2004 Template:Increase697,873 Template:Decrease2,338,650 Template:Decrease3,036,523
2005 Template:Increase750,476 Template:Increase2,457,038 Template:Increase3,207,514
2006 Template:Increase809,965 Template:Increase2,681,557 Template:Increase3,491,522
2007 Template:Increase839,326 Template:Increase2,786,636 Template:Increase3,625,962
2008 Template:Increase843,529 Template:Decrease2,723,940 Template:Decrease3,567,469
2009 Template:Decrease826,677 Template:Decrease2,643,434 Template:Decrease3,470,111
2010 Template:Decrease736,566 Template:Increase2,850,006 Template:Increase3,586,572
2011 Template:Decrease676,463 Template:Increase3,471,923 Template:Increase4,148,386
2012 Template:Decrease600,167 Template:Decrease3,213,780 Template:Decrease3,813,947
2013 Template:Increase626,594 Template:Increase3,573,465 Template:Increase4,200,059
2014 Template:Increase691,040 Template:Increase3,861,016 Template:Increase4,552,056
2015 Template:Increase793,025 Template:Decrease3,785,998 Template:Increase4,579,023
2016 Template:Increase848,878 Template:Increase4,093,508 Template:Increase4,942,386
2017 Template:Increase868,459 Template:Increase4,432,764 Template:Increase5,301,223
2018 Template:Decrease829,475 Template:Increase4,738,273 Template:Increase5,567,748
2019 Template:Decrease803,996 Template:Increase4,738,571 Template:Decrease5,542,567
2020 Template:Decrease352,985 Template:Decrease1,198,138 Template:Decrease1,551,123
2021 Template:Increase516,927 Template:Increase2,849,687 Template:Increase3,366,614
2022 Template:Increase708,866 Template:Increase5,148,170 Template:Increase5,857,036
2023 Template:Increase850,925 Template:Increase5,291,888 Template:Increase6,142,813
2024 Template:Increase906,241 Template:Increase6,015,507 Template:Increase6,921,748
2025(Oct) Template:Increase808,913 Template:Increase6,088,348 Template:Increase6,897,261

Traffic statistics by country (2023)

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Place Country Total pax
1 Template:Flagicon United Kingdom 1.341.929
2 Template:Flagicon Germany 937.844
3 Template:Flagicon Greece 850.925
4 Template:Flagicon Poland 377.614
5 Template:Flagicon Israel 277.576
6 Template:Flagicon Sweden 261.116
7 Template:Flagicon Netherlands 210.610
8 Template:Flagicon Czech Republic 193.329
9 Template:Flagicon France 192.540
10 Template:Flagicon Finland 191.330
11 Template:Flagicon Italy 187.218
12 Template:Flagicon Denmark 183.207
13 Template:Flagicon Austria 168.192
14 Template:Flagicon Belgium 160.750
15 Template:Flagicon Norway 157.280

See also

References

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Template:Portal bar Template:Airports in Greece

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