International Airport Nikos Kazantzakis Reviews

The worst airport in Europe. Looks really third-world, run down, congested and nothing seems to work. The departures area is massively congested and confused. Only two small TV sized screens have flight details. Toilets are to be avoided unless desperate. Seriously the rest of Crete is great but this airport is a disgrace.

Worst airport experience I've had in my life. Lines were crazy long and totally unorganized making people fight to be serviced. The service was super slow. Once we waited for 1h to the luggage drop in it appeared that we would only get a luggage sticker and had to go and wait for another hour in another line which was actual luggage drop. Not really choice of shops or food. Just avoid or come much earlier.

Chaos cramped and dirty, certainly not serviceminded over head and boarding procedures during any criticism. Will be the last time Chania chooses next time.

Organization that can be improved from all points of view. Long queues at check-in and baggage check. Gate for flights, often modified. Sometimes contradictory information and outdated boards. Few seats after check-in. Horrible hygienic servants!

For a departure at 7:00, no particular concern.
However, we see that the crisis has passed through there.

Positive: it is small. You do not have to walk far inside. The people are helpful. Interestingly, the prices in the transit zone are not as wild as usual. : 500ml of water 50 cents.

Negatives could be listed in heaps. Siztdeckel in the toilet? Ah, you're almost in Africa.

Everything looks like a bazaar. Loud, dirty, cheap.

Totally overloaded, a switch for CheckIn, an extra switch for baggage drop off, queue for security check to the front door, a star for the working wifi

You do not know if you are in the toilets on urine or water. The soil is at least flooded with a liquid that smells of urine. See photo.

The horror airport par excellence. Mies humored and demotivated employee. Toilets that remind me of Bangkok. The waiting area is completely undersized for the amount of people. Wait at the bottom of the airport and spend as little time as possible.
Greece at its best.

Airport is very old, you can not write anything special ... but the staff were very helpful in our case!
We had forgotten on the fast a small gray bag on the plane.
Immediately upon arrival in the baggage hall, an employee was informed and this helped us directly. Within 8 minutes the bag was with us!
Which would be very problematic since there were the Pampers from our baby :-D.

Now we wait how the return flight will be, otherwise the rating will be corrected :)

The worst impression at the airport are old and dirty toilets.

Most terrible airport I have ever been to. Unbelievable that this is part of European union. The toilets are inhuman. The staff is absolutely incompetent to manage the whole airport. Nearly no restaurants or places to sit if plane has delayed.

Awful, just awful. No air conditioning (in the middle of the Mediterranean summer), huge crowds of people, barely functioning luggage delivery system (several flights on one conveyor belt ?!), ridiculous food and drink prices (even by airport standards), toilets straight from a dirty station and a mixture of unpleasant odors . I strongly advise against.

One of the worst airports, small, old and completely disorganized.

The worst airport I have ever used. Total traffic chaos outside. Confusing or no signs for car parking / rental places. Inside: Unfriendly staff. Hot. Dirty. Massively overcrowded. Queue for the gate is OUTSIDE (not pleasant in scorching sun).

A totally 3rd world experience, hot, noisy, hugely loud announcements which would meet common definition of torture. Catering poor...information poor, very few screens and info incorrect...not a good end to an otherwise great holiday

Clean, easy to navigate inside and outside with a smile

Dirty, old airport, toilets without seats, long in need of repair

disaster! too little airport for too few people !! No one knows where exactly check in is displayed and appears to him nowhere!

I had no problems. Met local staff with a cheerful greeting. Small calm airport. Of the minuses - there is nothing special, the Internet, cafes, paper towels, etc.

The airport is reminiscent of one large toilet, and it also has a stench. Dirty, chaos, there are about 30 check-in counters, of which 2 are active in addition to each other, which is a hug so that there is no way to go. If we want to see exactly what goal we are to go to in order to check in, we have to go to the other end of the airport, because only there are monitors with this information.
Another circus begins at check-in. We stand in one queue to weigh the luggage and receive boarding passes, then we set ourselves in the next queue to give luggage. Everything is going on, because the service is in no hurry. Laughter in the room.
Toilets ... The stench that is there is unimaginable, it looks as if someone did a complete demolition there. Containers with paper lie on the floor, rust-colored shells of dirt, no locks in most toilets, mirrors as if spattered, urine on the floor. The cleaning lady came in, washed the wash basin with paper, and left, that was how the housekeeping looked like.
The airport would need a general renovation and a new manager who would supervise this chaotic place. After landing in Gdansk, we felt an indescribable relief that we finally found ourselves in a place where such situations do not take place.

A small airport with very few people at the moment. It's really relaxed when no one is behind you at the baggage check, or there are long queues.

Despite a little more effort in the controls because of Corona, everything went great

This airport is the oldest and by far the ugliest I have ever been on. The check-in hall is crowded the whole time and also small and outdated. The security checks are quick, fast so nobody would notice a gun then the waiting hall ... The height of the wall is about 2:10 high and the hall is too small. In the waiting hall then about 868 people wait for 6 flights and there are only 200 seats. And the buses are also very very alt.Aber there is a good thing.Man comes out quickly after arrival from the airport.

Small and old. Wifi internet free but disconect all the time. Not much to eat and coffee for 4.40 Euro ... why a relatively small and old field. There is hardly anything to eat. Duty little fruit. At least there is a connection and beauty to the Internet, also not something that disconnects much. And another take on 4.40 euros of coffee.

Despite the season high speed. Free Wi-Fi. What more do you want?

Really poorly organised, no social distancing at all, the queuing was more like a scrum, and all this started out on the tarmac.

On our trip, despite the heavy traffic, everything was fine.

Update Sept 2019: Still a dirty airport inside and outside. Very little aircondition at top floor. These horrible announcements still sounding loudly throughout the whole airport giving everyone a headache!

August 2019: Such a sad sight this airport.The second busiest airport in Greece with rubbish overflowing and continuous loud announcements overriding each other and making one mad. It is so crazy and once more sad.Do something about it please!

After renovations completed in 2018, the airport has definitely improved with a new departure terminal and a renovated shopping area. Clearly in the summer the airport is under pressure for the crowd of tourists that crowds but all in all it is now a modern and more than acceptable structure

Small but functional. To go to town, use the buses for less than 2. Don't make the mistake of taking a 15 taxi.

Chaotic airport in need of renovation. Staff overwhelmed and sometimes very unfriendly. Everything very cumbersome and confused.

Check in and on site everything went wonderfully, the toilets on arrival were horrible. No toilet paper and no toilet seat. Upon departure, the other toilets at least only lacked the toilet paper ... otherwise manageable and totally beautifully located on the water. Because of the toilet situation only 2 stars!

For smokers - it is worth going out for a pipe after passing the luggage, but before customs clearance, because later it is after the birds, and God knows how long you will go there, in the toilets dirty and smelly, but duty-free stands for a flash.

One of the worst airports I've ever seen in the world.
Thanks for smelly and crowded ... oh, we better leave it! One star is still too much.

Cramped, shabby and no hygiene concept recognizable, toilets without soap and paper. This is absurd in times of Corona. In addition, poor air conditioning and insufficient seating in the departure area, hundreds of people are crowded here. Clearance, however, quickly.

Disastrous checking here. More than 15min for one person, incredible, is that normal?
5P 5552 Nr24 is catastrophic

After reading the reviews I expected hell on earth but no, I got the lid on the nose. After showing the identity cards we got our tickets and we left by plane to our destination. Unfortunately this is a normal airport.

Comfortable airport, but at summer some days really sucks.

Ugly and dirty. Additional queue to x-ray. Too small for such big number of people, so it's crowded. To receive your baggage I had to wait for 30 minutes. Tragic organization. Hard to breathe in queues.

Dirt, crowds, misinformation. In May we waited for our luggage for about an hour! They threw out a few for a tape and siesta.
+ customs control lasted 20 minutes with a really big queue. Almost 2 hours here. The airport is mega backward and the service is typically Greek, they are never in a hurry. There is no water in the toilets, apparently much better than in Chania.

This airport does not suit Crete very well. It is quite aged, undeveloped, not much attention to hygiene (see other recensions regarding the toilets), overpriced duty free, overpriced food.

Want to take a seat? Either inside, close to the toilets (you dont need to see them to notice them) or outside, your face mask unfortunately does not repel the diesel emissions and terrible smell from the busses and taxis waiting outside with running engines.

But, somehow you finally make it to your aircraft, so if you spend as little time here as possible, you are fine.

Airport is filthy, literally filthy. There isn't good signage. 12.80 euro for a Suflaky Gyro, nothing short of a rip off. Man toilets hadn't been cleaned since the roman empire. No wifi available after security. You many fancy dutyfree shops. Not properly AC'd. Car hire access is messy, one cannot figure out how to get to your car hire place because it's like a maze. No clear boarding calls on the pr system, at least not in English.

Really terrible airport. For about 10-20 check-ins there is only one x-ray system connected to the assembly line, so you have to queue up twice. And it gets really bad in the second queue because EVERYONE has to queue there. I was squeezed between people behind me and hustlers while arguing all around, no trace of orderly employees. It is also stuffy and especially the toilets are very dirty and smelly. The trash can for the used toilet paper (that's how it is in Crete) has no lid. In the airport "restaurant" "cooking" there is little appetizing and overpriced food.
A star that the case went through too much with 0.8 kg without problems.

Very interesting art and interactive media exhibition for good photos. Unfortunately our suitcase did not arrive and we spent a long time in the Lost & Found area.

Don't forget that it is an island airport trying to handle a traffic bigger than that of Thessaloniki's "Makedonia" International Airport. A new airport is set to be built in Kastelli, Heraklion but it might take a while. During summer it is understantable that the airport is overcrowded because the island of Crete is one of the best -widely known- summer destinations. But during winter time the airport is emply, really clean and quiet . Don't forget that there is also an International Airport in Chania that it is said to be better.

Terrible place. Incredibly bad food, retarded staff, nothing clear and filthy toilets. Never experienced anything sad.

Airport visibly undersized compared to transits, and travelers who land (and embark) every day
Few communications, 3 Snacks, which sell at the price of off, sandwiches SNCF (...) = 4.5 for a pseudo "ham tomato butter" ... To try, nonetheless, the local pittas, about 3.5 ... To take also to drink, with that, because strongly dirty ...
Well ... Finally, everyone embarks, and that's the main thing ...
Now, not much chox if you see going to Crete: it's the only one on the island ;-)

Rude staff..ignorant morons in security..massive queues no organisation ..terrible airport

Extremely busy during the holiday seasons, old and outdated interiour, and not very well organised. (There are 2 seperate lines for the weighing and the x-ray of the luggage, wich makes it cluttered). Its the only airport on the island so you dont really have a choice.

Expensive drinks. Not very cool. Rude security staff. Nice view of runway. Lots of toilets, mostly clean. Electrical sockets around for charging.

Absolute shack, far too small, not air-conditioned. The toilets are the last. You can only be happy if you get out of this airport as soon as possible.

Dirty and old airport, the bathroom was filthy and smelled so bad.

The airport is not very large. Look outside is quite old. But should be better than before because there are more shops selling Check in, the staff is quite numb, enter the ROP number, switch to it, but fix it. But when the ticket is not available to solve the number Have to wait and see. Will there be a problem again? Whether the points are entered? Walk through the bag scanning point quickly with a fast track line. Inside is a duty free like the world and outside. The price is quite cheap, not expensive. Can be purchased for shoppers. PS. Finally, the check-in staff forgot to attach another priority point.

Hygiene is poor and poles with ribbons to guide people in the right direction are missing.

Awful little place, in October in no season. To sit down not where. Take water at the entrance that would sell five times more expensive ... This is the norm .... But will stand half an hour for water it is too

Most dirty airport I ever see!!!
No air conditioning, crowded terrible organization and navigation!
Hope never be back! Or they changed it on European standard soon.

Crete is gorgeous, but this airport is an absolute dump and runs like a circus too! There were only five families in front of us at the business class check in, but it took over 40 minutes to get through them. Almost 10 minutes to check in per group? Sub-par for sure.

Then after you've checked in, do they take your checked bags? Nope. You do! Over to the x ray conveyor belt which is RIGHT NEXT to business class check in. Can you go straight there though? Nope! There's a rope and if they moved that, surely all semblance of order would be lost.

Then there's security. Oh good, only three people in front of us. Oh, wait this takes forever too because everything is SO HARD here.

Ok, we're past security... Time to go to the lounge and have a drink. That will help us relax. Oh, wait... They DON'T HAVE a business lounge in this dump.

Sitting here just praying that plane comes soon and gets us out of this God forsaken place!

Scare reading the previous reviews but eventually I found the airport may be small but quite functional. The toilets are ok, plug usb for mobile before boarding. Just a defect already mentioned before, the flight chart is incomprehensible.

All in all, alright, a bit chaotic on departure, when you stand in line and after half an hour first learns that this is only online check-in, .. so again hire, .. since 2018's one Duty-free mile after the security and customs control with a lot of choices, only those for a "true" prices (EU flight, etc.) are a bit confusing, otherwise nice staff, clean toilets, almost everything great!

What to start with ... It is supposed that the airport is one of the busiest in Greece but it lacks the basic organization.
For Check in we stand in about a row. Sticks with swarms in "snake" formation may not reach the island in less than a decade. Through a pandemic, they stack us in a row without being able to keep their distance. Too bad .. once again a shame ... Badly the tourists keep coming

Airport on a human scale.
It feels good not to have miles to run!

Absolutely packed but with the quarantine rules changing so quickly it was to be expected as many including myself had to book a flight early to get home before the rules came into effect. The staff did try to clear the queues at check in as quickly as they possibly could. Not impressed with one member of staff who I asked for help to find which desk to check in, very rude and said it's not her job! On a plus the Jet2 staff member was fantastic and really helpful. Airport itself was clean and you can get drinks and food. The duty free shop was good and staff in there were very nice and recommended the Greek honey to take home and told me the offers which made it good saving. If it's not too busy there is a shop before you check in which had a good choice of souvenirs.

Long waiting times, super dirty toilets. Generally, this airport is not very clean.

Crete is such a wonderful island but the airport is dreary. Airconditioning is not working and it is very dirty.

Terrible place, where they are going to make sure to scam you one way or another.. don't use this Iraklio Airport!

Lack of information given to travelers (screens, agents). This makes the traveling experience in the airport poor, which is already weakened by its aging facility.

The worst European airport in terms of cleanliness, especially the toilets. A shame for Greece, this is the last image we keep in mind when leaving Creta. Attached a sample view of duty free toilets (one of the best)

Small and simple airport, looks and feels old, belongs to the 80's. The crew is kind and welcoming.

Very small and unpretentious, it is not usual that it is near the sea. It feels like you are landing in the sea. Well-trained and trained personnel for the new system related to the pandemic, clearly and instructively distributed passengers both on buses and when boarding an aircraft. When you leave the airport, you will find a line of car rental kiosks and tour agencies. Duty free prices were overpriced and varied in choice and discounts from the airport in Athens.

A brothel on wheels. But from the beginning ... to the building itself it's hard to get in because there are several check-in queues straight from the entrance. It turns out that you have to stand in line with children and luggage, after which the airport employee will wrap the suitcases and punish them in the second queue just next to give to the illumination. Not to mention that getting to the right queue borders with a miracle due to the lack of space. In the toilets it was only missing that somebody was inside and smeared it with a mop. Ripped boards from the books, no closing doors, dirty plates, mirrored mirrors and stench. The plane is obviously delayed, and the poor people often run from place to place due to the changing numbers of species ... I do not want to be there in the season ...

Small and confusing, but also fast production and quick exit possible. Little sanitary facilities! No good passenger info in case of problems, like delay etc.

The airport is just too crowded. There is no place to stand and you can forget about sitting. There are queues everywhere. So allow enough time for clearance. For hygiene and cleanliness, I can join the previous review.

Quite good equipment on the island. Prices are traditionally higher with a surcharge as everywhere. Hot dog for 4.90 and the like, this airport is definitely clearer than in Prague