You can't compare the airport with Munich or Frankfurt, of course, but a little more cleanliness in the toilets would make sense. The air conditioning doesn't seem to be working properly either, as 35 degrees are not uncommon in Crete.
Small, crowded, dirty and dirty and very hot. Toilets are an impertinence ..... I had to choke when I entered this. Not enough seats available, therefore full and everywhere people are close to close .... staff at the security check ... without words
Rest of Crete is beautiful, but this airport... Dirty, no organization,... Horrible. Would love to rate 0/5. I don't understand this is possible/allowed in Europe in 2018!
The worst of the worst airport that i have ever seen in my life. Customer care inexistent, the incompetent staff and very dirty airport.
Terrible airport. Not enough space and seats available. Gates check-in lines are a mess and queues run all over the departure hall
One star is already too many!
-Dirty toilets
-No organization
- Queues everywhere (in front of the check-in, in front of the security gate, etc.)
-Duty Free very nice, but unfortunately we didn't have any more time because everything took so incredibly long.
This airport doesn't have an international standard and I've seen a lot of airports!
The staff at the check-in were very nice, the lady at the entrance to the security gate was a disaster. Due to this experience we will no longer fly to Crete or only via Chania! Pity!
Not great. Disorganised.
The duty free shop has lots of flies coming from the bins. These bins are where the security throw away all the food and things that tourists try to travel with. They should normally be put in sealed bins. Because of these bins, you have flies everywhere around the entry of the duty free.
The gates were switched due to a late plane but no one informed me so I and many other people had to queue up in the wrong queue only to be told to go to another gate once we arrived at the front of the queue.
I also suspect the police of racially profiling people because they randomly started asking a black teenager who was travelling back to Paris, a bunch of very intrusive questions.
Not a good experience at the airport.
Worst airport ever been. There is no structure for waiting in line for check-in. After standing almost one hour in line to check in luggage we need to get our luggage back to go to the other side of the hall passing by people standing chaotically in line to wait all over again in order to put our luggage on the belt ourselves. When passing by the security check they requested me to take of my shirt. Otherwise I could not pass. I needed to take off my shirt in public! Never ever again I will use this airport. The Greek people on the island are super friendly, but the structure, the system, the service and the people at the airport are just horrible. Never again going by this place!
Who flies with Condor, has no problems. There are 4 check in counters, everything runs smoothly, and fast. You just have to stand in line once. The toilets are really not the hit, but it is partly the passengers who devastate everything. All in all, I have experienced worse airport.
The airport is in the process of being upgraded and is now taking flights 24/7 during the season. Consequently it is incredibly busy and there just isn't enough seating for everyone.
At the moment it is in a state of flux, with areas being moved around. Hopefully once completed and everything settles, it will all make sense but currently it doesn't.
Due to the work taking place not all toilets are in working order which is quite a problem if you have disabilities.
On arrival, you feel like you end up in the sea. The airport is very dark, it's dirty and it smells. Air in general bad. The toilets are horrible. Smrad, I did not close my cabin ...
For how hot this place is, I would expect a shadow to be seen at the airport, but not. About 1 hour we waited in the sun.
Departure was also fun because the markings came very chaotic. There is not much room for check-in. The only plus was the clean, repaired toilets after going through the duty-free zone. But it's hard to find them again. When you wait at the gat, you do not even sit for the crowd. Of course, free wifi is missing.
Absolute disaster! Unfortunately, you have to give a star to write the review. To all who have a departure from there in front of them, plans a lot of patience and time
I have to agree, it's a horrible experience. Very poor customer service overall, filthy, crowded, no accommodation for people who wait, lack of punctuality and overall lack of quality.
A small airport not adapted to serve such crowds of tourists. Waiting for luggage is waiting for Godot, you can read the entire "Trilogy". Crowd, crowd and crowd again. Prices like a stick - London is probably cheaper :-).
By far the dirtiest airport I have ever traveled to. The fly party. Before the renovation the situation was much much better !!!!! Also airport without wifi in 2018 ???
Appallingly dirty, hazardous airport; flies in the toilets and filth everywhere. Chaotic and disorganised: one example (of the many examples I could give from last night) is ground staff attempting to load the wrong flight passengers onto the bus for transfer to the plane. How is this even possible? So bad, we would not return to Crete as it was a nightmare. A disaster waiting to happen...literally.
Unfortunately I found it pretty bad.
It was very crowded, the distance could not be maintained. The lounge area was very crowded and additional areas would not! open. I felt very sorry for families with young children. The toilet area was very dirty, no soap, no towels, not to mention disinfection .....
The Greeks pay a lot of attention to wearing the masks on the street, but here at the airport with so many people you have to proceed differently ...... to insulate everything so really bad ...
4 hours waiting to predict the Sunday. What the hell!
A little better in 2018 ...
Nice little airport nothing special but everything went well even during COVID
Just dirt outside the airport and in the registration area. Tight airport. No normal life. The cafes are expensive.
Beloved international airport! Not the best in the world definitely though.
Aged airport and totally overloaded during the holiday season. Too few toilet facilities and those that exist are totally filthy and sometimes without toilet seat. A well-known scene from Trainspotting was shot here.
Everywhere only people stacked on top of each other because far too little space. Nevertheless, we made it home ;-)
Apparently it was redeveloped for the last time in the late seventies ... hardly any infrastructure, much too small.
Worst airport experience ever... Really left a bad taste after a great holiday in a great island with lovely people and awesome food. Never thought I will not return to a place I really like for a reason like this.
The queues were ridiculous, only 2 counters were open when I checked in. 45 min to check in and over an hour to pass security checks: one open station for I don't know how many flights. All of that with hundreds of people in a small terminal with no air-conditioning in the peak of Greek summer!!! For your attention..
Dreadful. Completely run down and dirty.
Built in 1937 and renovated since only about 3 times. On a window front windows made of plastic (new), aluminum (aged) and wood (ancient).
Food and drink prices are a joke.
this is the worst airport i've ever been at. i only give it 1 star because there's no chance to give zero.
Quite possibly the worst airport I've been to/through. Three things that would improve it drastically are; toilet seats, toilet paper and air con! For such a busy airport, it is woefully small. Had to go into one of the lounges just to get a seat and some cool air.
Pretty badly organized for too many simultaneous flights. There are few shops and the sanitary facilities are very dirty.
Decline! Too small in size / narrow to accommodate so many passengers. The tails are endless. The toilets are very dirty. Departures incorporate Duty-Free, reminiscent of a popular market. Remarkable staff, who with great patience, keep the airport upright. Too bad to give such a bad impression - which is the first and last in visitors to the magnificent Crete.
Has everything that a small airport can offer. Toilets however are digusting. Seems there is no cleaning done during the day.
Of course, I always fly here with the greatest pleasure, but every time I wonder why such a busy airport, daily receiving a huge number of planes from all over Europe (and Asia), especially in the summer, is so small. There are always crowds at the check-in counters, the seats are so few that those waiting sometimes sit on the floor. Of the cafes - only "Everest" with long lines in which cheap dishes always ended. I didn t see the vending machines for selling cold water (maybe they are somewhere). If the flight is delayed, you can go for a walk, but the luggage room costs 12 , so as not to drag the bags.
Of the benefits - a beautiful location of the airport on the beach. Very nice duty free store.
The result is not the best airport, but there are probably worse.
However, the minuses still do not spoil the impression of Crete.
Worst airport experience. This airport is simply too small to what they want to accomplish (traffic loads of people). I don't want to imagine what would happen if a disaster would occur.
It s just some kind of hello from the past millennium, the feeling that the Greeks are against tourists visiting Crete
Old airport with old-fashioned flight display board.
Relatively quick baggage checks, clean toilets.
Duty free without more, almost empty cigarette section.
Even this one star is too much of a good thing.
Starting with baggage handling, where the conveyor belt didn't work. We got our boarding passes, but were allowed to stand and wait with our luggage.
After we were finally allowed to hand over the luggage, we are really toilets.
If the partner comes out and says it smells, you don't expect anything good as a woman.
6 toilets, 3 of them with big surprises, 3 of them with small surprises. No toilet seat, no toilet paper, no button to flush, no soap to wash your hands.
Thank you for nothing!
Control was very easy and very quick. Our QR code could have been from a cookie jar.
This is the worst airport to finish you holiday in.
Everything slow and unorganised.
Shops are super expensive and if you are lucky you might make your flight.
Pity to leave such a beautiful island with the worst last experience.
Try to avoid Iraklio airport and fly via Chania if you can. The airport is outdated and a mess. Check-in counters are announced very late in time and everyone will start running to get a front position in the queue. When checking in luggage, you will get the tag at one desk, but then have to carry your baggage to another desk. If there is air conditiong, it is not very effective.
Nevertheless, I give 2 stars: The security check was not much of drama. Service personnel is friendly. Toilets are ok.
Also, you can buy local products in the entrance hall, or at the duty free store. If you have time to spend, go on the first floor (elevator might not work). There you will find a fast-food restaurant where you can chill and relax before your journey.
The worst airport I know. Check-in was quick and then it stops with the positive. In the restaurant there is only one provider "Everest" the more or less edible sandwiches, hot dogs and Gyros-pita offers. Everything to the usual high airport prices of 5 for a sandwich, 11 euros for Gyros Pita.
The cashiers in Duty Free are slow and prefer chatting with one another rather than serving the customer.
Cleanliness you miss at the entire airport. The floors are dirty, the toilets an absolute impertinence: no paper, dirty and none of the 5 sinks worked. Fortunately, we had disinfectant wipes with us. Seating at the departure gates are also in short supply, especially if once or 2 fliers are late.
Crete is so beautiful, one wonders why the first and the last thing you have to endure as a tourist, this awful airport must be.
Worse and most dirty airport i have ever seen. Toilets are really disgusting.
I have been working here for the fourth year. Given that this is an island, the airport is quite acceptable
At the pace of Crete a nice airport! Those who criticize travel a little and say that it is not that bad ...
After all the renovations this airport is still in 2001
Not the most beautiful airport, but efficient and fast handling (at least when flying with Aegean). The duty free is well sorted and yet offers a selection that we would not have expected.
Very old non-modern airport. There is no normal ventilation system, the toilets are scary, and there are often errors such as being directed to the wrong gate, luggage compartment and so on.
Well organized (much better than Bordeaux airport). Separate parents with small kids for the check in. Security check went very fast. Great duty free with Greek specialities.
Super airport after the conversion, the airport can only run better
I can't describe how shambolic this airport is, it is horrendously overcrowded for all the flights going out which means boarding is just a rammie. There was a system failure when we travelled from here and it ended with us queuing outside the airport for an hour just to get in another queue to check in. Even though this was a system failure I get the feeling that people having to queue outside is not uncommon as the airport is nowhere near big enough for the number of flights. When we finally made it to the queue for boarding there was one member of staff scanning people into an area to wait for buses, only thing was she didn't have a scanner so she was having to manually type the number in which took ages and there were also no buses to take us to the plane. Despite our plane arriving on time, it left 2 hours late just because of the shambolic and chaotic situation at the airport. The new airport can't come sooner.
Muck dirty but super good busse men and guides HOLIDAY
It's a small airport. But everything was still very confusing. We also had to wait 45-50 minutes at the baggage drop-off point.
Too small for the amount of people who fly there every day ... the toilets are apparently only cleaned once a day which is clearly not enough with the amount of people (dirty, smelly, sometimes broken).
Much better than I read in the comments. I dreaded the worst and in the end it's okay. A small airport like the others in the Mediterranean area: hot, not very clean, not very modern but I repeat, it does it completely.
By far the worst airport I never been too... if you go check-in and you have extra kilo you need to go pay at an other counter wich is very far from your check-in and than go back again to the check-in and do the line up again. People don't know anything there... don't ever bother to ask them a question! And it is way to small for the amount of people there!!
If you can avoid this airport, do it!
Outdated, dilapidated, overwhelmed if more than two people want to check in at the same time
Small airport with firendly staff bust has a few major problems that need worked on. One is that it is very dirty don't look too closely at the ground or you will find some fairly gross things there. Second is that there doesn't seem to be a decent security check system. When going though they closed one of the metal detectors (leaving only one open) but still had 6 security employees standing around the closed one talking and not seeming to do anything at all. Third, male bathrooms have had every single toilet seat taken off once past security. Lastly (and this is very minor and wouldn't affect rating but some people would need to know) they do not have any WiFi so I'd you don't have roaming data you will not be able to do anything here.
It's not as bad as you can read. Our flight was planned for 3 am maybe that's why there was no tragedy. Old airport + nice spacious duty-free zone + open points even at 3 am + quick service tickets and luggage check-in in one place + quick security check (not very accurate) - bathroom tragedy (for planks torn out, no paper, stench, flies, no soap) , part closed - I prefer not to know what it looks like in the high season) - the airport looks like an abandoned service is nowhere, passengers can walk where they want unstopped, airport documents lie at abandoned positions (everyone on the site has insight) - nobody is in a hurry, boarding began 20 minutes late, of course calmly. This is Greece and you have to keep that in mind ...
After so many years, the toilets have finally been renovated! Very appealing and nice and clean
In fact, not a great airport. Too few seats, largely bad condition. Hardly scoreboards in the waiting area. Has the Duty Free area been renewed? He has international standard, although everything is pretty small ...
I thought British airports were hell on earth but this one has surpassed that benchmark.
When you leave, Corona is suddenly no longer an issue. The gates do not have any capacity, but all shops are in operation with their sales areas that are actually needed for other purposes. Disinfectant dispenser? Nothing! All landlords and hoteliers on the island were well trained and careful. Here, however, the Greek state looks the other way or doesn't care after the tourist has been here.
Better than everyone says
Well organized, super fast
Semi-destroyed and very dirty bathrooms (I've seen 3), all doors damaged, no soap and no paper. Ryanair staff very rude but maybe it was limited to one woman. No checks, not even for anti-Covid19 procedures (the seats were all free and not spaced as in Bologna). Very few security guards and poorly trained. A general impression of little organization. The duty-free section and the view of the track with the sea in the background are beautiful.
As for the airport with a lot of traffic, the arrivals hall itself is rather weak, dilapidated and small. The surroundings are also not very interesting. Departure hall much better and newer, but it is quite crowded. It works quickly and efficiently, so you don't have to spend too much time here.
Buy any refreshments you need from a local shop before entering Heraklion Airport or buy from the duty free shop upstairs (still pricy). Definitely do not buy anything from the airport lounge shop - called 'everest' - 4 euros for a 500ml coke is day-light robbery .. and that's just the drinks!
An outdated badly designed airport with incompetent staff
At the arrival of a small airport can be seen and difficult to issue an opinion. We waited a long time for luggage, a lot of people to collect, but after getting the suitcases, we managed to get to our bus very quickly. At the departure you can write a bit more. Small airport, total chaos and disorder. The first gate to collect tickets and wrap the suitcases without any order or composition. A few disordered queues, intersecting with queues to put luggage on the tape. Generally, you have to stand in two queues, and you could solve it in one. Practically no tape separating one queue from the other. It is not too clean, but not exaggerated. Bathrooms terrible. A toilet usually without boards and paper. It changes a little after personal check-in and entry into the duty-free zone (visually), but the bathrooms remain the same. Dread when you look. Baby saps 1 euro, stupid croissant 3 euros. Confusion with the gates, looking at the employees themselves, can be said that they do not control the situation. In comparison with, for example, Chopin Airport, it is two different worlds. Surprisingly, there is no better airport in such a crowded place.
I have never seen such a dirty airport, I do not want to start from the toilets ... unreasonable!
WCs are really too dirty to sit on.
When checking baggage, there are full and empty bottles everywhere, that they have no one to clean them up regularly, really crazy. In short, a poorly cared for airport.
Just fine sandwich eaten check in went well and people nice. Only toilet is not super clean but oh well you keep it anyway
Woeful. Disorganised. Unfriendly staff. Think cattle market only less organised and more uncomfortable. Won't visit Crete again until they sort out this shambolic hell hole. Avoid.
The airport is getting old. Very bad descriptions. The announcements could hardly be understood. Sometimes two announcements came at once. Anyway, I got on the plane with a slight headache. Check-in as well as security control and boarding went smoothly despite Corona. But the safety distance and the mask requirement are hardly observed.
It is quiet here the week before Easter. Easy, small airport.
Toilets more than disgusting. Check-in unfriendly, you have to queue again to drop off your luggage. No information about the delay. I will never fly to Crete again.
Airport disgusting. A steal what the taxi drivers do. They like to deceive tourists. A shame.
Quite a thrash airport, especially given the huge number of passengers using its services. Collecting money from such a number of tourists it was possible to bring the airport in a decent form. Try to minimize the waiting time, which is going to be held here. Because at this time you will be very uncomfortable.
The only plus is the proximity to the city center.
No organization, definitely one of the worst airports in the world, queues do not exist, all travelers take any of the queues indeed, no cord is installed between them. In any case the people who take care of the recordings do not really know which planes they are taking care of. Answer of the three hostesses interviewed: I do not know, maybe yes or maybe no. Hallucinating, we made three interminable queues before we could leave our suitcases. The screens above hostesses do not guarantee that you are on the right track. The security checks are close to level zero, I did not have time to empty my suitcase of all electronic devices, indeed security jostle you to go faster, they saw nothing in my suitcase and for good reason the person in charge of the scanner, did not look at the screen of control and I did not see it at any time to make it .... In the boarding party not better, local unsuited to the influx of passengers, queues appear everywhere and do not necessarily lead to your boarding gate ... Beautiful country but the population is not very friendly (except traders and other people living toursime) and in addition we feel the flagrant absence of training ... Last bridges my boarding cards being on my phone and their scanners did not read them ... Result I'm going with my family to all controls without anyone checking that my documents were real ...
Other countries other manners.
The here negative comments may be partly true, but not in vain in this country other conditions and therefore unfortunately in some places not always completely clean.
Nevertheless, I can only say that we were received immediately, the transfer from the runway was incredibly fast and in all the transport super!
It's a beautiful country, I do not make it dependent on the look of the airport.
Can I definitely recommend it.
Huge queues, terrible organization of landing, crowded and stuffy.
01.07.2020, first day of entry, better than expected
One of the worst airport I have ever seen. It doesn t look too much different from a public toilet. It s hot in here even during nights, it s dirty and nothing went smoothly, during check-in few ID readers were broken and we had to wait more than needed, security is not as tight as it should be, WiFi is not working and there are too few garbage bins
Unfortunately, zero stars do not work. Worst airport I have ever been to. Already on arrival everything was dirty & dusty. The return flight did not get better. Dustbin on the overflowing, everywhere is garbage around, so really dirty until it is no longer possible. It is hectic, it is disorganized, loud to no longer works. You do not need to buy food there because the prices are extremely high even for an airport. And I prefer not to start from the toilets ....
Weathered and dirty airport.
The organization is catastrophic. Change of all Gates at the last minute with of course delays for all planes.
Not the nicest, biggest airport but lots of shops and everything goes the way it's supposed to be, right by the sea. Friendly employees.
Not exactly one of the best airports. Confusing and not completely up to date. But there is no other choice if you fly to Crete by plane. The handling worked without major problems, but with a somewhat longer waiting time. Security personnel not in a good mood.
heraklion-airport.info