Kos International Airport

History

The airport was opened on 4 April 1964. In 1974, the runway was extended to 2,400 metres. Due to increased traffic at the airport, a new terminal was built in 1980. In 1997, the terminal building was renovated and expanded.

In December 2015, the privatisation of Kos Island 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. "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters. According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Kos Island International Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.

On 22 March 2017, Fraport AG and its Greek subsidiary Fraport Greece presented its plans for 14 regional airports that they had been handed control of by the Greek Government. The immediate actions by Fraport were to improve lighting, improve the marking of airside areas, upgrade sanitary facilities, enhance WiFi services and implementing better fire safety throughout the airport.

The long-term plans by the operator, which initially were to continue until 2021, included the building of a new terminal and a new fire station, and the refurbishment of the waste water treatment plant The new terminal provides significantly more check-in desks and security check lanes.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Kos Airport: | Aegean Airlines | Athens, Thessaloniki Seasonal: Heraklion | Aer Lingus | Seasonal: Dublin | arkia | Seasonal: Tel Aviv | Austrian Airlines | Seasonal: Vienna | British Airways | Seasonal: London–Gatwick | Brussels Airlines | Seasonal: Brussels |Chair Airlines | Seasonal: Zurich | Condor | Seasonal: Frankfurt, Munich, Stuttgart, Vienna | Corendon Airlines | Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Hannover, Nuremberg | Corendon Dutch Airlines | Seasonal: Amsterdam, Brussels | Discover Airlines | Seasonal: Frankfurt, Munich | easyJet | Seasonal: Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, London–Gatwick, Manchester, Milan–Malpensa, Naples, Venice | Edelweiss Air | Seasonal: Zurich | Enter Air | Seasonal charter: Gdańsk | Eurowings | Seasonal: Berlin, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Graz, Hamburg, Innsbruck, Linz, Nuremberg Salzburg, Stuttgart | Finnair | Seasonal: Helsinki (begins 5 May 2026) | Helvetic Airways | Seasonal: Bern | Jet2.com | Seasonal: Birmingham, Bournemouth (begins 6 May 2026), Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow (begins 26 May 2026), Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, London–Gatwick (begins 6 May 2026), London–Luton (begins 21 May 2026), London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne | Leav Aviation | Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn | Luxair | Seasonal: Luxembourg | Neos | Seasonal: Bergamo, Bologna, Milan–Malpensa, Verona | Ryanair | Seasonal: Bari, Bergamo, Berlin, Bologna, Dublin, London–Stansted, Milan–Malpensa, Pisa, Rome–Fiumicino, Treviso, Vienna, Weeze, Zagreb | Sky Express | Astypalaia, Athens, Kalymnos, Leros, Rhodes | Smartwings | Seasonal: Bratislava, Brno, Ostrava, Prague | Swiss International Air Lines | Seasonal: Geneva | Transavia | Seasonal: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Paris–Orly, Rotterdam/The Hague | TUI Airways | Seasonal: Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bournemouth (begins 21 May 2026), Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Exeter (begins 24 May 2026), London–Gatwick, London–Stansted (begins 7 May 2026), Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne | TUI fly Belgium | Seasonal: Brussels | TUI fly Deutschland | Seasonal: Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover, Munich, Stuttgart | TUI fly Netherlands | Seasonal: Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Groningen, Rotterdam/The Hague

Statistics

The data are from Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) until 2016 and from 2017 onwards from the official website of the airport.

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Traffic statistics by country (2024)

Ground transport

By public bus: A transit bus service operates between the airport and Kos town, Mastichari, Kardamena and Kefalos.

By tour operator transfer: Tour operators such as Jet2holidays and TUI UK provide free bus transfers from customers' accommodation to the airport.

By taxi: 24/7 metered taxi service is available outside the Kos Airport Terminal building.

By car: Kos Airport is located 24 km from the Kos town and is accessible from the provincial road Kos-Kefalos.

Accidents and incidents

• In 2013, an Air Explore Boeing 737 made an emergency landing due to the left engine overheating. Once it taxied to the gate, the engine caught fire. The pilot ordered an evacuation using the emergency slides on either side of the aircraft. No one was injured during the incident.

References

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