Runways in the Greek Islands
Fewer than most people assume. Santorini and Mykonos take business jets of almost any size, at 2,197 and 1,903 metres. Skiathos, at 1,628 metres, takes most of them. Paros, at 1,400 metres, takes turboprops and some light jets until its extension is finished. Naxos and Milos are under a kilometre and take turboprops only. Everywhere else in the Cyclades has no airport at all. On the islands that do have one, the runway rarely stops a flight. The slot and the parking stand usually do.
The runway length decides most of it
An island itinerary in Greece usually depends on one figure that nobody mentions until late: the length of the runway.
Everything else follows from it. It decides which aircraft can be used and whether the party arrives together or in two aircraft. It decides whether the last leg is flown or made by boat, and whether the aircraft can stay or has to leave and come back.
The figures below are the physical runway lengths. The length an aircraft can use on the day is shorter. It changes with temperature, wind, slope and how much fuel is aboard, and a hot afternoon in August takes metres off every runway in the Aegean. Treat the numbers as the most an island allows, and expect less on the day.
The island runways
| Island | Runway | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Santorini | 2,197 m | Almost any business jet; also 737 and A320 family traffic |
| Mykonos | 1,903 m | Business jets to long-range size, and narrow-body airliners under operational limits |
| Skiathos | 1,628 m | Most business jets; aircraft up to the size of a 757-200 |
| Paros | 1,400 m | Turboprops and a limited set of light jets |
| Naxos | 901 m | Turboprops |
| Milos | under 1,000 m | Turboprops |
Paros is the figure that is changing. The airport opened in 2016 with 1,400 metres. A funded extension to 1,800 metres has been expected for the 2026 season, and it would put the island within range of light and midsize jets for the first time. Naxos has its own extension project, of 300 metres. Do not plan against either until it is in operation. Ask what the runway is today, not what the published project says.
The larger airports need no table. Athens, Thessaloniki, Corfu, Rhodes, Heraklion, Chania and Kalamata all take any aircraft that reaches Europe, and several take aircraft arriving from further away.
What the lengths mean in practice
There are three broad categories of aircraft. The differences between them matter more than the differences between models.
Turboprops are propeller aircraft with one or two engines and 6 to 9 seats. They reach every island airport in Greece, including the short ones. They are slower and wind affects them noticeably more. They are the only aircraft that can use Naxos, Milos and the smaller strips.
Light jets typically have 6 to 8 seats. They use Santorini, Mykonos, Skiathos and every large airport comfortably. Today they generally cannot use Paros.
Midsize and larger jets are limited by runway and by weight together. Santorini and the large airports are straightforward. Mykonos takes them, subject to conditions on the day. At the shorter runways the answer is usually no, whatever the published length suggests.
The operator of the aircraft decides this, not the passenger and not the broker. The operator runs a performance calculation for the specific aircraft, the specific runway and the conditions that morning. This is why a flight confirmed in March can be re-planned in August.
The islands with no runway at all
This is the part that changes itineraries most.
Most of the Cyclades have no airport. Sifnos, Serifos, Folegandros, Amorgos, Antiparos, Koufonisia, Schinoussa, Iraklia, Sikinos and Anafi are reached by sea or by helicopter, and by nothing else. The same is true of Hydra and Spetses in the Argo-Saronic islands, and of Patmos and Symi in the Dodecanese.
A brief that names one of those islands is therefore a jet to the nearest airport and then a second journey. That second journey is by helicopter, tender, fast boat or scheduled ferry, and the day depends on it. Where a helicopter may land in Greece covers what is possible on the islands with a licensed landing site.
Why the runway is rarely what stops you
Once the runway is known, most people find it was not the limit.
In July and August the limits at Mykonos and Santorini are the slot and the stand. A slot is an approved time for the aircraft to take off or land. A stand is a parking place for it on the airport apron. Both airports are coordinated at peak, so every movement needs an approved slot before departure. Santorini’s apron runs out of room in the first weeks of August, and requests made less than 4 weeks ahead are frequently refused. Aircraft routinely land, drop their passengers and fly on to the mainland rather than wait.
What an FBO is sets this out in more detail. It is why an island flight is planned from the ground up rather than from the aircraft down.
What to establish before fixing an island week
- The runway, then the aircraft, then the day. Take them in that order. The aircraft is chosen to fit the island, not the reverse.
- Whether the aircraft can stay, or has to fly elsewhere and return.
- What the plan is if the slot moves, airfield by named airfield.
- How the last leg happens if the island has no runway, and who is responsible for that leg.
- What the operator’s performance calculation says for August, not for the year. A runway that works at 7am in May is a different runway at 4pm in August.