Flights to Greece

Athens, the capital of Greece, is well connected with major international cities. Athens International Airport, Eleftherios Venizelos, was opened in March 2001 and was built to meet the needs of a modern world. It is located 23 miles northeast of the city. It has 157 check-in counters and two runways of 2.5 miles each. The airport has capacity for about 600 daily flights. It has conference facilities, post office, hotel, courier service, banks, exchange houses, ATMs and many shops and restaurants.

There are 5 international airports in Greece. They are located in the main cities of the country, namely Athens, Corfu (Ionian), Heraklio (in Crete), Kos (Dodecanese) and Thessaloniki (near the Halkidiki region). Some Greek islands are not directly accessible by flights. The best way to travel to these islands is by organizing a taxi transfer from the Athens airport. Airfares to Greece between June and September and during holidays are comparatively more expensive. Weekend flights are also expensive. Recently, many charter flights have started operating to and from Greece. Most charter flights operate during the summer.

Olympic Airways is the national airline of Greece. It operates daily flights from New York City and Boston to Athens. The approximate flight time from Athens to Los Angeles is 15 hours and from Athens to New York 13 hours; Most European airlines connect North American cities to Greece through major European cities. Direct flights also operate from major European cities to Macedonian International Airport in Thessaloniki in northern Greece, as well as to Corfu (Kerkira), Grete and Rhodes.

American and Canadian citizens entering Greece for a period of less than 3 months require a valid passport. However, it is not necessary to obtain a visa. Passport and visa requirements vary for tourists of different nationalities and must be verified well in advance of travel.