Chios State Airport to Get Long-awaited Upgrade

Impression of Chios Airport after upgrade. Photo source: @nmitarakis

The Greek Transport Ministry recently announced that the “Omiros” state airport on Chios will receive 9.6 million euros in funding to significantly upgrade infrastructure and expand facilities.

The works for upgrading the airports’ facilities are expected to help meet future demand for travel, make flying more efficient and improve the travel experience of visitors.

The contract for the airport’s upgrade was signed recently by Greek cnstruction engineering company EKTER SA during an event attended by Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachis and Transport Deputy Minister Giorgos Karagiannis.

Transport Deputy Minister Giorgos Karagiannis, Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis and Migration Minister Notis Mitarachis.

The announcement of the upgrade follows the launch of works for the expansion of the airport’s runway.

“This is a project for Chios that we have been discussing for decades and which now will be completed in the near future,” Minister Mitarachis said.

The upgrade project for Chios’ airport includes the expansion, restructure, repair and improvement of the airport’s facilities, including passenger service areas such as check in counters, passport control and catering and commercial spaces.

Chios Airport. Photo © GTP

The project will be funded by the National Strategic Reference Framework (known as ESPA) 2014-2020 program.

Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis highlighted that the signing of the contract for the improvement of the airport of Chios is a small sample of the effort the ministry is making to improve the image of Greece’s airports.

“And if this is carried out either with new facilities, or by improving existing ones, we have reached the point where our country has good airports and today is a pan-European exception to the bad image of aviation,” the minister said.

More airport upgrades on the way

Impression of Chios Airport after upgrade. Photo source: @nmitarakis

According to Deputy Minister Giorgos Karagiannis, the upgrade project for “Omiros”, which is expected to improve the travel experience for Greeks and tourists, is part of a broader plan of the transport ministry that concerns the modernization of Greece’s airports.

He informed that infrastructure upgrades are planned for the airports of Paros, Naxos and Syros in the near future and that works are ongoing at the Kastelli airport on Crete.

“By supporting our tourism with modern infrastructure we are strengthening our economy and the image of the country,” Karagiannis said.