Samos International Airport "Aristarchos of Samos" (IATA: SMI, ICAO: LGSM) is an airport on Samos Island, Greece.
The airport is named after Aristarchos of Samos, an ancient astronomer and mathematician, and lies within 5 km from the nearby town of Pythagorio. The airport has a single short runway. The airport's surroundings leave little room for error or mistake on the behalf of the pilots – with nearby mountains and sea at the end of the short runway. In summer there are often strong Meltemi winds from the north, which further contribute to the difficulty of the landing.
There is one terminal building. There are five boarding gates, none of which have jet-bridges. Passenger facilities are split across two floors and include a duty-free shop and a small café.
History
The airport first operated in May 1976.[4] In the late 1990s/early 2000s, the terminal was renovated: the capacity of the airport was increased to deal with increasing passenger numbers.
In December 2015, the privatisation of Samos 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.[5] "We signed the deal today," the head of Greece's privatisation agency HRADF, Stergios Pitsiorlas, told Reuters.[6] According to the agreement, the joint venture will operate the 14 airports (including Samos International Airport) for 40 years as of 11 April 2017.
Future investment
On 22 March 2017, Fraport Greece presented its master plan for the 14 regional airports including the International Airport of Samos.[7]
The following summarizes the enhancement changes that will be started in October 2017 and will be implemented for Samos International Airport under Fraport Greece's investment plan until 2021:
General clean-up
Improving lighting, marking of airside areas.
Upgrading sanitary facilities
Enhancing services and offering a new free Internet connection (WiFi)
Implementing works to improve fire safety in all the areas of the airport
Expanding and remodeling the current terminal
New fire station
Reorganizing the airport apron area
19 percent increase in the total size of the terminal at 9,605 m2
40 percent increase in the number of check-in counters (from 10 to 14)
25 percent increase in the number of departure gates (from 4 to 5)
50 percent increase in the number of security lanes (from 2 to 3)
Airlines and destinations
Check-in hallView of the airport from the west
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Samos Airport:
Traffic figures
The data are from Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)[18] until 2016, and data from 2017 and later are from the official website of the airport.[19]
Traffic statistics by country (2022)
Accidents and incidents
On 3 August 1989, Olympic Aviation Flight 545 crashed into Mount Kerkis while on approach to Samos Airport. All 31 passengers and all three crew members died in the accident.[21]
^"METAR/Synop Information for LGSM (16723) in Samos Airport , Greece". Gladstonefamily.net. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
^"SAMOS AIRPORT "ARISTARCHOS OF SAMOS"". ypa.gr. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
^"Air traffic statistics" (PDF).
^"Samos Airport". Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
^"Greece signs privatization of 14 regional airports with Germany's Fraport". Tornos News. 14 December 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
^"REFILE-UPDATE 1-Greece signs major privatisation deal with Germany's Fraport". Reuters. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017.
^"Fraport Greece’s Development Plan for the New Era at the Greek Regional Airports", fraport-greece.com
^"Aegean Airlines / Olympic Air NW23 Domestic Operation Changes". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
^Liu, Jim (8 November 2019). "Austrian resumes 2 Greek leisure routes in S20". routesonline.com.
^"Brussels Airlines adds eight new destinations to its Summer 2022 schedule". 18 January 2022.
^"Timetable". condor.com. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
^Liu, Jim (2 January 2019). "Neos schedules new European routes in S19". routesonline.com.
^"Flight". apollorejser.dk.
^ a b"Flight". apollo.se.
^ a b"Flight". apollo.no.
^ a b"Only Flight". tui.se.
^"Only Flight". tui.no.
^"SAMOS AIRPORT ARISTARCHOS OF SAMOS", ypa.gr
^"SAMOS AIRPORT (SMI) - 2017 vs 2016", smi-airport.gr
^"Traffic by Country_2022_SMI" (PDF). smi-airport.g. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
