Scheduled to open in 2027, the sprawling site is being built next to the existing Kasteli Hellenic Air Force Base which will continue to operate after the commercial airport opens.
The new airport will replace Crete’s current primary airport Heraklion International, which is the country’s second busiest behind Athens International Airport.
Heraklion, located a 25-minute drive from the new airport sees around 8million passengers per year, but has struggled to cope with rising passenger numbers.
While travellers gush about the beauty of Crete itself, Heraklion hasn’t always received glowing reviews. Booking portal Holidu, previously analysed data from Google Maps and produced a ranking of the best and worst airports in Europe for last year based on their average star rating.
Heraklion ranked bottom, with an average of 2.6 stars from 21,202 reviews.
“Despite its privileged location as the gateway to the island of Crete, Heraklion Airport failed to meet travellers’ expectations,” the company wrote at the time.
One hacked off Google Reviewer called it the: “Most miserable airport I’ve seen in my life. We had a delayed flight last year and it was the worst experience of my life.”
Another claimed that it is “unfortunately one of the least pleasant aspects of visiting the island”.
“While Crete itself offers stunning landscapes, rich history, and warm hospitality, the airport feels outdated, overcrowded, and ill-equipped to handle the volume of tourists, especially during the summer season,” they added, giving the experience two stars.
Other reviews were much more positive, with a third writing: “Despite the other bad reviews: the airport is were very well organized, has clean facilities personnel is quick, friendly and we had enough seating.
“Perhaps the experience is different during high season but in late may, we were very pleasantly surprised.”
Another also gave the airport five stars, writing: “Liked the efficiency for check-in and security, both took less 10min to go through.
“Also duty-free area offers a lot of products and local produce,” however they noted that “during main tourist season airport can be very, very crowded and there is not enough seats for passengers after security”, something the new airport is looking to address.
The airport has been approached for comment.