Samos International Airport
Airport in Samos Island, Greece
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Samos International Airport "Aristarchos of Samos" (IATA: SMI, ICAO: LGSM) is an airport on Samos Island, Greece.
Samos International Airport "Aristarchos of Samos" Κρατικός Αερολιμένας Σάμου "Αρίσταρχος ο Σάμιος» | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture | ||||||||||
| Serves | Vathy | ||||||||||
| Location | Samos Island, Greece | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 19 ft (5.8 m) | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°41′24″N 026°54′42″E | ||||||||||
| Website | smi-airport.gr | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  SMI Location of airport in Greece | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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| Sources:HCAA,[2] Fraport Greece[3] | |||||||||||
The airport is named after Aristarchos of Samos, an ancient astronomer and mathematician, and lies within 5 km (3.1 mi) from the nearby town of Pythagorio. The airport has a single short runway. The airport's surroundings leave little room for error or mistake on the behalf of the pilots – with nearby mountains and sea at the end of the short runway. In summer there are often strong Meltemi winds from the north, which further contribute to the difficulty of the landing.
There is one terminal building. There are six boarding gates, none of which have jet-bridges. Passenger facilities are split across two floors and include a duty-free shop and a small café.[citation needed]
History
The airport first operated in May 1976.[4] In the late 1990s/early 2000s, the terminal was renovated: the capacity of the airport was increased to deal with increasing passenger numbers.
In December 2015, the privatisation of Samos 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.[5] "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters.[6] According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Samos International Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.
Future investment
On 22 March 2017, Fraport Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including the International Airport of Samos.[7]
The following summarizes the enhancement changes that will be started in October 2017 and will be implemented for Samos International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan until 2021:
- General clean-up
- Improving lighting, marking of airside areas.
- Upgrading sanitary facilities
- Enhancing services and offering a new free Internet connection (WiFi)
- Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airport
- Expanding and remodeling the current terminal
- New fire station
- Reorganizing the airport apron area
- 19 percent increase in the total size of the terminal at 9,605 m2
- 40 percent increase in the number of check-in counters (from 10 to 14)
- 25 percent increase in the number of departure gates (from 4 to 5)
- 50 percent increase in the number of security lanes (from 2 to 3)
In January 2021, Fraport Greece concluded the last of the construction works for the 14 airports – well ahead of the April 2021 contractual deadline.[8]
On 9 October 2024, Fraport Greece announced it would proceed with the third phase of runway construction at nine regional airports in Greece, including the International Airport of Samos. For the construction Samos Airport was to be closed from 5 November 2024 to 25 November 2024.[9]
On 21 July 2025, Fraport Greece announced it would proceed with the forth phase of runway construction at eight regional airports in Greece, including the International Airport of Samos. For the construction Samos Airport is scheduled to be closed for 24hrs every Wednesday, 00:01 - 23:59 (local time), from 18 November 2025 to 24 March 2026, with 23, 24 and 31 December 2025, as well as 6 and 7 January 2026, being exempted.[10]
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Samos Airport:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines | Athens[11] |
| Austrian Airlines | Seasonal: Vienna[12] |
| Brussels Airlines | Seasonal: Brussels[13] |
| Condor | Seasonal: Frankfurt[12] |
| Corendon Dutch Airlines | Seasonal: Amsterdam[12] |
| Discover Airlines | Seasonal: Munich[12] |
| Edelweiss Air | Seasonal: Zürich[12] |
| Eurowings | Seasonal: Düsseldorf[12] |
| Jet2.com | Seasonal: Birmingham,[14] London–Stansted,[15] Manchester[15] |
| Neos | Seasonal: Milan–Malpensa[12] |
| Olympic Air | Thessaloniki[16] |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Seasonal charter: Stockholm–Arlanda[17] Trondheim[18] |
| Sky Express | Chios,[19] Lemnos,[19] Mytilene,[19] Rhodes,[19] Thessaloniki[20] |
| Smartwings | Seasonal: Prague[12] |
| Transavia | Seasonal: Amsterdam[12] |
| TUI Airways | Seasonal: London–Gatwick[21] Mytilene[22] |
| TUI fly Belgium | Seasonal: Brussels[23] |
| TUI fly Netherlands | Seasonal: Amsterdam[24] |
| TUI fly Nordic | Seasonal charter: Stockholm–Arlanda[12] |
Statistics
The data are from Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)[25] until 2016, and data from 2017 and later are from the official website of the airport.[26]
| Year | Passengers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | International | Total | |
| 1994 | 121,370 | 296,640 | 418,010 |
| 1995 |  132,269 |
282,192 |
414,461 |
| 1996 | 141,864 |
 264,430 |
406,294 |
| 1997 | 149,564 |
263,334 |
412,898 |
| 1998 | 146,056 |
277,498 |
423,554 |
| 1999 | 189,132 |
314,704 |
503,836 |
| 2000 | 180,446 |
287,948 |
468,394 |
| 2001 | 154,004 |
304,686 |
458,690 |
| 2002 | 141,362 |
283,488 |
424,850 |
| 2003 | 142,212 |
266,835 |
409,047 |
| 2004 | 153,067 |
240,562 |
393,629 |
| 2005 | 155,534 |
236,593 |
392,127 |
| 2006 | 190,879 |
260,039 |
450,918 |
| 2007 | 216,605 |
265,382 |
481,987 |
| 2008 | 204,873 |
266,993 |
471,866 |
| 2009 | 216,174 |
230,968 |
447,142 |
| 2010 | 193,530 |
217,035 |
410,565 |
| 2011 | 172,672 |
236,048 |
408,720 |
| 2012 | 149,664 |
214,984 |
364,648 |
| 2013 | 136,641 |
207,076 |
343,717 |
| 2014 | 151,107 |
245,201 |
396,308 |
| 2015 | 149,302 |
253,848 |
403,150 |
| 2016 | 153,240 |
193,540 |
346,780 |
| 2017 | 161,313 |
248,972 |
410,331 |
| 2018 | 159,763 |
290,128 |
449,891 |
| 2019 | 168,892 |
298,503 |
467,395 |
| 2020 | 100,669 |
43,630 |
144,299 |
| 2021 | 131,580 |
138,718 |
270,298 |
| 2022 | 174,647 |
278,617 |
453,264 |
| 2023 | 193,356 |
283,950 |
477,306 |
| 2024 | 192,817 |
295,377 |
488,194 |
| 2025 | 210,689 |
285,728 |
496,417 |
Traffic statistics by country (2022)
| Place | Country | Total passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 174,647 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 65,079 |
| 3 | Germany | 59,112 |
| 4 | Sweden | 27,007 |
| 5 | Denmark | 23,656 |
| 6 | Poland | 17,803 |
| 7 | Belgium | 14,944 |
| 8 | Italy | 13,488 |
| 9 | Norway | 13,011 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 11,849 |
| 11 | Finland | 7,715 |
| 12 | Slovenia | 7,625 |
| 13 | United Kingdom | 6,827 |
| 14 | Switzerland | 4,282 |
| 15 | Austria | 3,599 |
Accidents and incidents
- On 3 August 1989, Olympic Aviation Flight 545 crashed into Mount Kerkis while on approach to Samos Airport. All 31 passengers and all three crew members died in the accident.[28]
