International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis Reviews

What a third world airport this is. Unfortunately I have to give 1 star but prefer -1. Never seen such a gang in the whole world. Everyone has to sit on the floor, no idea where to go and far too busy everywhere.

Disgusting. This airport is a disgrace. It is very sad that this sewer of an airport is the first and last thing people are forced to endure when visiting Crete. The place should be closed down.

they do their best but it is small and thousands of people turn around. delays are the order of the day, but who cares when going on holiday is all part of the fun

Just back from this place. It's great for arrivals - virtually no delays at immigration and bags are quick. Departure on the other-hand is a nightmare. Two weeks de-stressing all up in smoke with queue's the length of the terminal. Just chaos. Why they can't at least have some tapes and staff controlling the bedlam is a mystery to me. Please remember to arrive in plenty of time

The airport is very unorganized place. Be there 3 hours before flying. The time to wait while check in is very long. The stuff is very unfriendly and dont know what they do. Never Heraklion. The airport in Chsnia is much better

Convenient airport

Fast boarding and control

True duty free very good prices for cigarettes

Very nice sea view

Sun, sea and less painful return

Though...

This airport can ruin the best vacation of your life. And not to install air conditioners in such a hot country is a crime.

On arrival, we found the check-in area to be very busy - disorderly queues going out the doors. Many of the rooms were very poorly lit.
Luckily there was a shop, and a restaurant. This part of the airport has a better atmosphere. You can also watch the planes out the window, though you can't take pictures (probably due the the proximity of the nearby army base). Going to the plane was quite chaotic. We had to queue in a line that circled round the room due to it's length, then we had to shuffle down exterior stairs; difficult when you are packed tightly together. We were then drove to the plane by bus, then we left: 40 minutes late.

Overall, it's a busy airport, too small to accommodate everyone properly.

The worst airport I ve ever been. It s so dirty and really without any good organization - but there are so many passengers! The airport owner and people who are responsible for it should be ashamed. There no electricity in the restrooms, even when it is the restrooms are very dirty that people don t want to use it. The is no water in them. The food served by the restaurant on the first floor is really under any expectation. The portions are very small and the food is not tasty. There are not enough chairs for people at all, don t mention about the kids and elder or disabled people. The information about delays are announced very late - almost 45 before the flight, but people were standing and waiting for any kind of information what is going on with their flight. I m very very disappointed. Crete is so beautiful but this airport made my summer holidays a nightmare. Hope that the Greek government will do something with that!

Worst air port ive ever been to. Terrible smell of sweat no air conditioners, very small and very packed. Absolute nightmare to get to your airplane.

It is an airport 5 km away from the city, you can take a bus to the city center for 1,1 Euro, the orange ticket. Rental car companies are located on the right when you exit the terminal

Too hot, too busy, nowhere to sit, horrible toilets and the food prices are eye watering. (You only find out when you get to the till having queued up for a very long time). I've been in a zillion airports all over the world and this has to be the worst. They even switch off the power to the mains sockets so you can't charge your phone.

Worst Airport I have ever been to. It's just Horror. Hours of waiting!!!!

Bad quality airport. It s a chaos by the check-in s. Filthy bathrooms with every sink broke. Atleast the shops are clean... I do NOT recommend this airport

As everyone has said the toilets are an utter disgrace. Not one had a seat or paper. They hadn't been cleaned in a while. The duty free was immaculate why is it the toilets are like this? Surely their staff dont use them?

Two years ago, in 2016, I will have given only one star (or two) for this airport in Heraklion, so it "was" obsolete.
It still is in places but we feel a desire to modernize, even if it is not visible before having passed the customs.
Indeed, all the "back" part of the airport has been completely refurbished, it's quite incredible for who goes to Crete for more than 10/15 years! It has become as modern as when you go to the Duty Free shop in Zaventem (Belgium). I could not believe it! (Note that I passed around 23h on May 24, so there was absolutely no one at the Duty Free and it was still open around 1 am Fortunately because my plane was 5 hours late ... thank you TUI!)

And it was time for that to be done. The airport still has difficulty with the flow of tourists in high season (I will say from June to September); the hall is often crowded on all sides; the information boards are completely obsolete (at least on this date, in May 2019); the staff, unwelcoming, is often the opposite of what are the "real" Cretans on the island (especially in small villages and other places a little less frequented by these hordes of German tourists / English) the customs passage is quite frightening, we still believe in 1980; the airport is pretty clean overall (especially the new part, logical) EXCEPT regarding the toilet: a horror!

There is, in men, NEVER boards on the toilet, toilet paper everywhere except in garbage cans, urine everywhere next to the toilet, on the ledge. You will even sometimes be entitled to a (con de) tourist who does not deign to shoot hunting ... (no need to draw a picture of the result); doors rarely close; no need to wipe your hands ... in short, remember to go to the bathroom before arriving at this airport! (or plan a good disinfectant for your hands)

The new part (after customs therefore) has new toilets, more "modern", cleaner. Although only the woman part seemed concerned: I tested the toilets men and same result as in the hall of the airport, despite the fact that they were only a year or two: no board on the toilet, dirt everywhere (toilet paper beside garbage cans, urine on the floor); the soap that has flowed all over the sinks (they would have done better to go see what is done elsewhere in the world because their system, despite the fact that it is recent, remains obsolete and badly thought) ... only the toilets women seemed cleaner but I did not check by myself.
BRIEF, the Duty Free and the large flight waiting hall are modernized but the toilets are still not their strong point. Not to mention the coldness of the saleswomen of Duty Free ... I do not understand that they engage people as unwelcoming / smiling to work there, because it is the last contact you will have with this country and frankly, it does not make you want to come back to it. Last detail, the metal seats are very uncomfortable.

Positive point:
the new Duty Free (note: no press once the customs pass)
the choice of food (Sandwich, Smoothie, etc.), always after passing the customs
the facility to park / drop someone on the spot
access to various GATES that has been modernized

Negative points :
the information, incomprehensible to the microphone and on the tables (which are in place only simple cathode tube of 80cm, hung at 4 meters high: do not forget your glasses!)
the toilet (a disaster, especially for men)
obsolete infrastructure of check-ins
the (small) customs rather archaic and badly organized: in full season, it is quickly the brothel general!
in general: the staff, often unpleasant.

This review is for a trip between May 15 and May 25, 2019. Return flight with 5 hours late, to say that 5 hours of waiting in this airport is anything but fun ...

Most horrible airfield ever. We were well on time. The signs did not give the correct information (our flight did not appear on the board at all). In addition, and I hope this was a temporary thing, but we had to check in a horribly long line (with 30 degrees) to have our suitcase checked. Once arrived at the lady it appeared that she does not put the suitcase on a belt and it is taken, as you are used to, but after you have checked in you have to go back through that same row (100th people who want to move forward with their suitcase in the direction of the check-in). desk and you with your suitcase try to get out of there) and then join another huge row where you can put your suitcase on the assembly line. It was so busy, just really dangerous! In addition, it was ridiculously dirty and poorly maintained. Crete is great, but the airport is really horrible.

It has good connectivity with the public bus, located almost in front of the airport, as well as taxi and car rental services.

A shame !! The dirtiest and most degraded airport I've seen in my life ... to escape especially in the middle of August !! Not at all adapted to accommodate so many tourists ...

Pretty much the worst airport I've ever been to. If you like filth, chaos and being treated like a pig in a slaughterhouse, you'll be having a great time here.

What a vinegar pisser who is complaining here and complaining that it is not good. Dear people, you are abroad, where first of all there are not the same standards as in our home country. Indeed, as someone says, those who have such a big problem with this airport have probably not seen that much. In addition, it was not too bad with "small" and "dirty" and the like, seen no mess, just nice shops, even for security, but also behind it.

Yesterday when checking in the luggage excellent and smoothly helped, the staff member spoke perfectly in English. Security was also much smoother than in the Netherlands, and here we had to show our passports at least and there was a good check to see if you had anything with you that could not pass. Contributes positively to the feeling of safety in this time. On departure in Eindhoven we did not have to show 1x passports so everyone could travel in our name and with our boarding passes. Moreover, without knowing it ourselves, a large can of deodorant in hand luggage came through security (we found out in Greece).

Before the departure from Crete, I got a last nice gyros sandwich for while waiting at the gate, not even 10 for two people. Really just no complaints about this airport at all. Once on Rhodes 3 hours delayed, that was just an old (even primitive), dirty, simple airport, we could hardly find an ice cream while waiting in the heat. Heraklion is also a paradise!

Reading previous reviews I thought it would be total chaos .. but not at all. The airport is small, but we had no problem. We made the recording easily and found our gate without any difficulties. Only downside, the benches in front of the airport were dirty.

Small, messy and old. Now slightly different circumstances than normal I think, but landing on it is not so bad, but there is less departure.

Very dirty, bad sandwiches. Toilets are incredibly dirty and half broken.

Such a chaos and stress ... I have never experienced such an airport.

all who complain about the airport in Heraklion, I invite you to the airport in Chania, this is just a Greek tragedy, best regards

I can see from overall reviews that is same opinion as mine, I can say it is even vorse then Manchester Airport staff. Ok bad impression starts with entrance in specialy with toilets it is disgusting! Next is security check... OMG it is terrible slow, crowded no organisation Staff is rude. Waiting gates area is not designed to hold such a big quantity of passengers. Air conditioning is very poor as well. Overall is the worst airport so far for me! If you can just avoid it. Thanks

Very badly organized. When there is a little (but very little) line at the drop off of the baggage the whole hub stops because there is no more room to move. Dirty and largely broken bathrooms. Few boards showing departures. Dark and quite dilapidated place, absolutely undersized compared to passengers in transit. After security checks the premises are better, but quality and organization do not change ... The worst airport ever seen!

Very small and rather run down airport.
Unfortunately, the toilets are sometimes not really clean.
The baggage claim on arrival worked very quickly.
Unfortunately it was extremely crowded in the hall on the way back and it was extremely long before you could check in your luggage.
Otherwise there is nothing to complain about.

Had to wait for 2 hrs for my lugagge on arrival.
Very friendly personel and no issue on the outbound flight.
It's a small and clearly arranged airport.

A quiet not well served facility. AC not working at all gates areas. Not enough crew members at all check in sections. VERY long lines. BEWARE.

Much better than the last 2 times that I came there because arrangements were made but the toilets remain the big black spot!

Underground infrastructure. On the toilets only 1 soap dispenser from the supermarket, next to the washbasin there was a roll of paper to dry off your hands. No disinfectant and that during Corona.

Airport is tiny and filthy! The toilets are a nightmare to visit, and the only clean place is the duty free and the VIP lounge.
Though the VIP lounge does NOT have a toilet, and the food in there is an absolute disgrace, it's the only quite place where you can hear yourself think.
My best advice is to hold your breath for the duration, and get out as fast as possible.

Small and poorly managed airport. In my opinion, they have a flow of travel that is too high for the skills they have. It is also poorly managed from a hygienic point of view.

Checkin is a joke. Staff too busy drinking coffee, not helpful. X-Ray machines break every 5 minutes. I arrived 3 hours in advance but I wasted so much of my time in checkin, I barely made it to the last call of my flight, so can't comment on facilities/shops.

This airport was disgracefully dirty, a complete embarrassment of an airport. Every toilet we went into was dirty, this was even after a recent clean - evident from a recent mop which left the floor swimming in water. Half the taps, soap dispensers and flushers were not working. The rest of the airport was also dirty, the chairs outside gates and windows looked like they hadn t been cleaned in weeks.

I understand this airport is old and planning is underway for a new one but that is no excuse for having it in this state. This is disgraceful and created a bad perception for tourists. Lift your game!

Horrible experience! Very few staff with queues are huge at check in and even more in control. Missing information about your flight. The culmination of everything is cleanliness. Such dirt is difficult to meet. He hung up to step, sit down and breathe. Not to talk about the toilets, Hang up even out of the way .. Hurry ..

The only complaint is the cleanliness in hygienic areas.

This airport is a huge pain in the ass. Too many people on too little space, e.g. 2 check in counters for 4 flights of wirh one has problems all the time. The departure hall feels like a giant feed lot for European tourists. Staff seems to be unorganized, it is really time for a new airport in Crete.

Due to covid 19 there wasn't anywhere to eat or drink by our departure lounge.

This is my first negative opinion in my life but I have never been to such a terrible airport. Half of the toilets broken, no paper, dryers broken, veryooo dirty. Total lack of organization, poor markings. Little space, service not very nice and very slow. The only plus is that the water is not at a cosmic price compared to other airports because after 0.75 euros ..... all the rest is a big misunderstanding.

The airport is pretty run down. Toilets for the most part broken. A waiting room for all gates that was totally overcrowded. Insufficient seating and poor unintelligible public address system.

When leaving for Frankfurt, despite the Schengen Agreement, the IDs were checked.

Far too busy. Far too small. Very uncomfortable departure area with no air conditioning or seats. By far the worse airport we have travelled from. We upgraded to fast track lounge which was fine but very over priced at 40 each....even children have to pay full price. Still had to queue 15 mins to get through boarding gate though.....

Terrible airport...possibly the worst I have ever had the misfortune to fly out of. Forced to queue in searing heat outside in the sun for an hour. The queue was longer than the shaded areas that were erected to deal with the hordes of people just trying to get into departures.

Total disaster! No sufficient climate control. No facilities. Not enough seats.

A poor duty free. Only a few local products. Chania airport will offer you a better experience.

Uninteresting airport. The biggest minus for the lack of toilet water in the part after customs clearance.

Worst sanitary facilities ever !
No toilet paper, broken doors, all toilets blocked up. Dirty mounting parts. Totaly unhygenic!!!
No COVID-19 Measures.

Small but well kept. Checks are done fairly early and have a nice sea view when you leave

Hello, Mr. WC was still acceptable and we never had our luggage as fast as here.

Far too small for the amount of people who fly there every day. Departure hall flooded with people and little fresh air.

We enjoyed the beautiful view on the sea and planes from the gates! And a water bottle costs just 0,75 Euro Cent! The stuff in the duty free shops were friendly and helpful.

Small but for such tourist traffic as this year it is approx

Small airport. Everything is okay. Very nice location. The plane lands over the sea and take off over the sea. Very nice

The airport of Heraklion is operational
1937 is the second most important Greek airport. He took the name of the writer Nikos Kazantzakis. It is 4 km from the city center, in Nea Alikarnassos area
115 ft / 35 m the land plot amounts to 2,781 acresAirport Company Destinations Domestic and International
Aegean Airlines Flag of Greece.svg Athens, Thessaloniki
Summer time: St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, Berlin-Tegel, Beirut [11], Brest, Geneva, Jerevan, Zurich, Larnaca, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Munich, Moscow-Domodedovo, Bordeaux, Nantes, Dusseldorf, De Gaulle, Rhodes, Stuttgart, Tel Aviv, Tbilisi [12], Toulouse, Frankfurt

The stuff at the security control was horrible, absolutely rude and no ethics about their job. We were traveling with two little kids and the experience was unacceptably bad. The Airport authorities really need to pay attention to the low level of the work attitude and unwillingness to do their job in a proper standards at the Security Control. At the end when you are leaving the beautiful island of Creta they fully destroy all your good feelings and mood.

Chaos on arrival at the baggage claim and on departure chaos at the desk

An old fashioned little terminal, the advantage in the autumn is fast check-in, restaurants really are not, hardly any coffee, cold drinks, sandwiches and morning brews,

Entry very unproblematic despite Corona. There are more buses going from the plane to the terminal, so there was no crowding. Had to queue up in front of the PFL checkpoint and wait about 20 minutes until we could show the QR code. No more waiting to pick up your suitcase.
Distance rules are to be observed yourself - several travelers have been advised by the police.
Otherwise you notice that it is less going on than before.

Incredible as the travelers are ripped off, so expensive it is not even in German airports. Dirty, dirty, hard on the edge of the bearable. And I do not even want to start talking about the sanitary facilities, because fortunately diseases can not be transmitted via eye contact.

Old, run-down and completely overcrowded. No free seats in the departure area, stand for hours until the plane goes and dirty toilet.

Impressive changes but it still takes a lot of work to qualify as a modern airport

Airport is crowded, dirty, confusing for passengers. I guess when of the worst airports I ve ever been to.

Great wee airport, all went very smooth, in and out. Pre-booked transfers also went like a dream. Happy Holiday Crete, sunshine all the way and happy smiles.

We have now landed in Heraklion at Corona times and of course also flew back. The plane - airport transfer was very good, but then the chaos started. Group cuddles included.
Return flight: structure and organization is absolutely suboptimal. When checking in the baggage it was full and unstructured. Passengers and employees !! made a chin guard out of the mouth and nose guard. Disinfectants can also be there more. The toilets are also clearly expandable. Such ailing toilets have not been seen in a long time.
The airport - plane transfer was good again.

Quick and easy . The staff and the staff very friendly.

Hopeless airport, cramped, smelly. Chaotic service. Massacre.

THE AIRPORT EXTERNALLY GOOD THE CONTROL TOWER A LITTLE LOW. IF THIS AIRPORT WAS MY LIFE ALSO CHANGES
1. WOULD BE A SMALL EXTENSION
2. I WILL MAKE MORE EXPENSES OF EXPENSES
3. MORE STORES
4.It will light up the whites in yellow
5. MUSIC

The airport is far too small for the crowd. First at the counter to check in, then with the luggage for luggage control and then to the person control ....

If you know where you want to go and you can read everything, no problem