From military outpost to a Mediterranean gateway
In short: Before it became a bustling hub for millions of travelers, Rhodes International Airport served a much different purpose. Once a military airfield, this Greek gateway has undergone a massive transformation, evolving from a post-war aviation site into one of the nation's busiest transit points.
The origins of civil aviation in Rhodes trace back to the period following the Second World War. The site for the current Diagoras International Airport was originally the location of the nearby military Rhodes Maritsa Airport. Over the decades, the facility has transitioned from a military-focused site to a major commercial infrastructure, eventually becoming Greece's fourth busiest airport by 2019, handling approximately 5,542,567 passengers.
The airport's modern era is defined by significant structural expansions and a shift in management. A major milestone occurred in 2005 with the opening of a new passenger terminal designed to manage the rising tide of charter flights. More recently, the airport's operations underwent a fundamental change in December 2015. Following an agreement between the state privatisation fund and a joint venture of Fraport AG and the Copelouzos Group, the airport was privatised alongside 13 other regional Greek airports.
Under this 40-year agreement, which commenced operations in autumn 2016, a massive investment plan was launched to modernise the facility. Since November 2017, the airport has seen substantial upgrades to its capacity and passenger experience. These include a 71 percent increase in security-check lanes—growing from 7 to 12—and a 13 percent rise in both check-in counters and departure gates. These enhancements aim to support a complex infrastructure capable of handling large aircraft, such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A350, on a 3,305-meter runway.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Rhodes International Airport
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