Thessaloniki Makedonia Airport Main Runway Opens

Thessaloniki International Airport “Makedonia”.

The main runway at Thessaloniki’s Makedonia Airport is in operation handling all flights, following the completion of planned maintenance works there, Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority said on Wednesday.

The ongoing upgrade works at Thessaloniki airport created reactions late last year, when a number of airline companies expressed safety concerns.

During the upgrade of the main runway, landings and takeoffs were carried out on a taxiway but poor visibility and bad weather conditions led to delays and landing problems.

Makedonia Airport. Photo Source: Civil Aviation Authority

Speaking to Praktoreio radio, Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis said the airport’s main runway “was handed over this morning at 6 am,” adding that ”from the four arrivals and four departures we had in the previous period, gradually after the completion of the project, we will have reached 15 arrivals and departures and by the end of the year a second runway will be ready, allowing Thessaloniki Makedonia Airport to handle more than 25 arrivals and 25 departures”.

Projects are currently underway to facilitate flows and passenger controls with works on the main terminal in the pipeline, Fraport Greece Corporate Communications Manager Yannis Papazoglou told the Athens News Agency.

Works are scheduled to be completed by March 10, 2018.

In the meantime, low-cost carrier Ryanair said this week that it had decided to expand its network of destinations out of Thessaloniki airport with the addition of 13 new routes to its 2018 winter schedule, connecting Athens and Thessaloniki with destinations in Europe, Asia and North Africa.