Kastelli Airport

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Airfield Kastelli
Kastelli Airport
Αεροδρόμιο Καστελλίου
View from the east of Kastelli airfield
Characteristics
ICAO code LGTL
Coordinates

35 ° 11 '31 "  N , 25 ° 19' 37"  E Coordinates: 35 ° 11 '31 "  N , 25 ° 19' 37"  E
Height above MSL 360 m (1181  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 23 km southeast of Heraklion
Basic data
operator Greek Air Force
Start-and runway
02/20 2991 m × 45 m asphalt



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The airfield Kastelli ( English Kastelli Airport ; Greek Αεροδρόμιο Καστελλίου ) is a military airfield in the Greek Air Force in the city of Kastelli on the Greek island of Crete .

history

Second World War

Work on the airfield was started by the British during World War II to create landing areas for the Royal Air Force . After the conquest of Crete , the German occupying forces continued construction. This should be used for the German military operations in North Africa. To disrupt these supply missions, British commandos were sent to the airfield for sabotage as part of Operation Albumen in 1942. They destroyed and damaged a total of 29 aircraft on June 9, 1942. Another successful sabotage act took place on July 4th and 5th, 1943.

Expansion to the new Heraklion airport

A new airport is being built at Kastelli , which will replace the Nikos Kazantzakis airport after its completion . The tender for the airport construction was announced for April 2014. The new airport will cost between € 700 and 800 million and will be leased to the building company for 35 years. During his two-day visit to Greece, the Chinese head of government showed interest in participating in the new airport.

The consortium around the Greek company GEK Terna and the Indian GMR Group was awarded the contract to expand and operate the new airport in 2017.

The construction phase should take at least five years and the expansion should be completed around 2022–2023. Construction is scheduled to start in the summer of 2018 and the concession is even designed for 37 years. It should be able to handle around seven million passengers per year.

In January 2020, the European Investment Bank approved a loan for the expansion of the airport, which will soon begin. The Greek-Indian consortium Ariadne Airport Group was selected for this as early as 2019. The construction costs should amount to 517 million euros, the completion should take place in 2025. On February 8, 2020, the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis laid the foundation stone for the construction.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Heinz A. Richter: Operation Merkur - The conquest of the island of Crete in May 1941 . Franz Philipp Rutzen, Ruhpolding 2011, ISBN 978-3-447-06423-1 , p. 76 .
  2. ↑ Interview with Robert Lebold on patris.gr (gr)
  3. ↑ Post on patris.gr (gr)
  4. ↑ Information about the current airport (s), accessed on April 11, 2016
  5. ^ Greek newspaper of March 26, 2014, p. 7
  6. ↑ Greece newspaper online from June 20, 2014 ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed June 22, 2014  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.griechenland.net
  7. ↑ China is investing heavily in Greece. In: FAZ . June 22, 2014, accessed December 29, 2014 .
  8. ↑ Crete's Kastelli Airport Project Moves to Next Stage on news.gtp.gr of April 18, 2017 (en), accessed on April 3, 2018
  9. ↑ GMR Group's press release on the award in the bidding competition from June 7, 2017 (en), accessed on April 3, 2018
  10. ↑ Crete's Kastelli Airport Works to Kick Off in 2018 on news.gtp.gr of November 28, 2017 (en), accessed on April 3, 2018
  11. ↑ Contract and construction begin for new Crete airport expected in 2018 despite delays on chaniapost.eu (en), accessed on April 3, 2018
  12. ↑ Work for new Crete airport expected to start in 2018 on apokoronasnews.gr from December 1, 2017 (en), accessed on April 3, 2018
  13. ↑ Aerotelegraph online portal from February 1, 2020 (accessed February 8, 2020)
  14. ↑ faz.net, "Foundation stone laid for major airport on Crete" from February 8, 2020 (accessed on February 8, 2020)
  15. ↑ biskotto.gr, "Πάντα νιώθω καλύτερα όταν βρίσκομαι στην Κρήτη" (I always feel better when I'm in Crete) from February 8, 2020 (gr), accessed on February 8, 2020

Web links

Commons : Kastelli Airfield  - Collection of images, videos and audio files