Rhodes Airport Runway Length

[Valorie Carlee]

Thiswas the island's main airport until 1977, when the new Rhodes International Airport was opened. The need for a new facility was big, as the 'old' Maritsa airport did not meet the needs for a modern civil airport.[citation needed] The new "Diagoras" airport was built in 1977. It was decided that, on this location, it would meet the needs of the island better.[citation needed]

Improvements have been made to the airport, like expansion of taxiways, platform and airport buildings. The most recent upgrade is a new passenger terminal, opened in 2005, to accommodate the growing number of charter flights and passengers. The airport's plants currently cover a total area of 60,000 m2[3]

On 21 September 2015, Rhodes Airport was closed for 14 hours after a 'sinkhole' appeared in the runway. Flights were diverted to surrounding airports such as Kos and Heraklion as well as Athens and the runway was fixed and reopened the following day.[citation needed]

In December 2015, the privatisation of Rhodes International Airport and 13 other regional airports of Greece was finalised with the signing of the agreement between the Fraport AG/Copelouzos Group joint venture and the state privatisation fund.[4] "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters.[5] According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Rhodes International Airport) for 40 years as of autumn 2016.

Rhodes Airport terminal is actually 2 separate buildings with a joined corridor in the middle. Departures are served both in ground (check-ins, baggage checks) and first floor (passenger screening, gates, shops) while arrivals are served only in ground floor's southern corner where passport control, customs and baggage reclaim operate. Airport does not have air bridges so boarding and disembarking require the use of buses.

Both terminals are and will be under renovations for the next couple of years from Fraport as a series of chronic problems need to be addressed. Toilets and air conditioning system were first to be fixed while more complicated works including new check in facilities that will eliminate double checks for baggage as well interior remodeling will proceed[when?] gradually during low traffic winter months.

Airport also hosts all necessary services such as a police station, a medical clinic, airline and handlers offices, rent-a-car and tour operators kiosks, VIP halls as well recently[when?] refurbished duty-free shops, cafes and restaurants.

The airport's single runway direction is 065/245 degrees (designated as 06/24), having a length of 3,305 meters and a width of 60 meters. There are two taxiways and four taxi links connecting the runway with the apron. The apron with the new pushback configuration can accommodate up to 20 ICAO reference category C or smaller airplanes, simultaneously. Three parking positions have MARS (Multiple Apron Ramp System) capability and can accommodate larger category D and E aircraft, such as the Airbus A330, A340 and A350 and the Boeing 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787. There is a small general aviation apron with three dedicated positions for small propelled or jet aircraft.

The following summarizes the enhancement changes that started in November 2017 and will be implemented for Rhodes International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan:Immediate actions that were implemented at the airports as soon as Fraport Greece took over operations and before the launch of the 2017 Summer season included:

Rhodes Airport terminal is actually 2 separate buildings with a joined corridor in the middle. Departures are served both in ground (check-ins, baggage checks) and first floor (passenger screening, gates, shops) while arrivals are served only in ground floor's southern corner where passport control, customs and baggage reclaim operate. Airport does not have air bridges so embarkments and disembarkments require the use of buses.

Both terminals are and will be under renovations for the next couple of years from Fraport as a series of chronic problems need to be addressed. Toilets and air conditioning system were first to be fixed while more complicated works including new check in facilities that will eliminate double checks for baggage as well interior remodeling will proceed gradually during low traffic winter months.

Airport also hosts all necessary services such as a police station, a medical clinic, airline and handlers offices, rent-a-car and tour operators kiosks, VIP halls as well recently refurbished duty free shops, cafes and restaurants.

The airport's single runway direction is 070/250, having a length of 3,306 meters and a width of 60 meters. There are six taxiways connecting the runway with the terminal. Tarmac can accommodate up to 14 airplanes simultaneously and up to A380. New parking spots as well rearrangements on airplanes' parking patterns engaging ground vehicles is expected to increase capacity.

The Rhodes International Airport partially resumed its operations on Thursday after shutting down earlier in the day due to damage reported on its runway. It was the second time the airport had closed in the space of two days after heavy rain damaged the runway on the exact same spot on Tuesday.

In their efforts to overcome the technical difficulties on Thursday, authorities decided to temporarily reduce the runway's length. Certain flights were expected to be affected by the measure before the damage was competely repaired.

Specifically, from 14:00 to 13:00 of the following day, and on selected dates, the operation of the runway will be suspended. The 23-hour phase-out on the days listed below is absolutely necessary due to the size and complexity of the project.

Despite this and based on the planning of the works, the uninterrupted air connection of the island and passenger service has been ensured, during the specific period of time, since the flights to and from the Rhodes airport will be carried out, during the hours before and after suspension of runway operation.

During the above intervals, all airport services will operate normally, for the public. Furthermore, it should be noted that in the event of an emergency, the operation of the runway can and will be resumed, after consultation with the authorities, in a period of time that does not exceed 60 minutes.

Regulatory compliance and safety, at all levels, are key priorities for the company. It is worth noting that these works are part of a broader plan to further upgrade the already high level of safety and operation of the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece. As mentioned above, they are related to large-scale projects to be executed by the company, as part of the Recovery and Resilience Fund financing.

The Maritsa airport of Rhodes, was constructed in 1935 and has been the main passenger, commercial and military airport under the Italian occupation of the Dodecanese. It got its name from the village in the area, while we also see it as Maritza in the Italian reports. Its real name was G. PESSI PARVIS, from the ace of the Italian aviation of the First World War who was killed in the Aegean, and the code of the airport was 801.

The Maritsa Airport had a passenger station; storage sheds for aircrafts, technical services for the maintenance and repairing of aircrafts, as well as two kilometers of dirt and asphalted runways. It accommodated all types of civil and military aircraft of the Italian aviation.

During the World War II, it was strongly bombed by both the British and the Germans, without any major catastrophes, thanks to the antiaircraft artillery that protected it. After the occupation of Rhodes by the Germans, it was the main airport of the Luftwaffe.

According to the store page, "The airport's single runway direction is 070/250 [sic], having a length of 3,306 meters and a width of 60 meters. There are six taxiways connecting the runway with the terminal. Tarmac can accommodate up to 14 airplanes simultaneously and up to type 747."

Rhodes Diagoras is the fourth busiest airport in Greece with 3.3 Mio passengers in 2021 and the gateway to one of greeks most popular holiday destination. The sun always shines, the variety of traffic is awsome and there are great spots for photography. There is just one runway 07/25 and 25 is used for the vast majority of the time due to the prevailing winds what makes spotting pretty easy. The movements start from around 8am and the mornings tend to be busiest with traffic dropping off after lunchtime. Weekends tend to be busier although Tuesday is busy with German flights. The main travel season is from June till August. In winter (November-April) the airport is almost dead except some flights to the mainland.

The mix of traffic is very good with the usual holiday charter and subcharters from northern Europe, plus quite a few from Italy and Eastern Europe. The bonus though are regular flights from Israel with 5 or 6 per day including Arkia, Israir, ElAl (787/777!). Add the occasional military flight (E145/C130) and the odd biz jet, plus hardly any EZY/RYR flights and it all makes for great variety. Almost all flights dont stay longer as 1-2 hours on the ground so there is always an opportunity to take a picture from the plane you are looking for, especially if something special is coming in.

Like many other airports in greece, the ownership of Rhodes was taken over from the greek state by the FRAPORT AG which is going to renovate the whole area. This includes the installation of new barbed wire or closing of photos holes which already happened.

July 2024: Thanks to some rude spotters, who destroyed the fence, this spot is unuseable as of now. Police is guarding the place sending away any cars stopping here. Please keep away from this spot for now! No problems at this location during our stay, even with a ladder.

Nothing nearby. Food/Drinks available in the village of Paradeisi or the airport view restaurant if you follow the road along the perimeter fence.

Be careful when military is moving.FOCAL LENGTH20-200mm should be fine for everythingPhotos taken from the elevated position:

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