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Replacing Heraklion, moving the island's front door about 35 km inland
For decades, arriving in Crete has meant landing five kilometres from the middle of Heraklion. That is about to change. A new airport is being built inland at Kasteli, it is intended to replace the current one entirely, and it will reset every transfer distance on the island at once. Some places get closer, several get further, and the south of Crete may change more than anywhere. Here is what is actually established, what the numbers look like today for comparison, and, just as importantly, what nobody can honestly tell you yet.
Kastelli is planned to take over from Heraklion's current airport, and the dates in circulation do not agree: the construction reporting points at 2027, while aviation records list 2028, and the project has moved before. Nobody sells a ticket, a transfer or a bus fare to Kastelli today. This page collects what is genuinely known now, so you can plan a 2027 or 2028 trip with your eyes open, and we add the fares and timetables as they are published.
Every line below is sourced, and the sources are listed at the foot of the page.
Today's figures are published and checked. For the new airport we give a distance only where one has been published, and otherwise state the direction of the change. Adding today's numbers to the Kastelli distance would be a guess dressed up as a fact, so we do not do it.
| Where you are going | From Heraklion airport today | From Kastelli |
|---|---|---|
Heraklion town Further | About 5 km from the current airport | Roughly 35 to 40 km. This is the biggest change of all, and the one returning visitors will assume has not happened |
Hersonissos, Stalis and Malia Closer | Roughly 25 to 35 km; published fixed taxi fares €44 to Hersonissos, €52 to Malia | About 17 km, and the new link road meets the motorway in this same area. The one part of Crete that gains |
Agios Nikolaos and Elounda Closer | 62 km to Agios Nikolaos, around 70 to 75 km to Elounda | Nearer, since Kastelli lies east of Heraklion and these are further east again. No figure published yet |
Rethymno Further | 80 km, about 1 hr 10 min | Further, since the drive west now starts east of Heraklion. No figure published yet |
Chania Further | 147 km, about 2 hr | Further again. Chania's own airport is 13.5 km from its old town and remains the sensible arrival point for western Crete |
Southern Crete Closer | Everything routes through the north coast motorway | Potentially the biggest structural change: the airport is planned as the junction between the north and south road axes, which would open up the south properly for the first time |
We would rather leave these blank than fill them with guesses. Each one becomes a real answer here the moment it is published.
Until this happens, Crete arrivals still land at Heraklion's current airport, and the routes from it are live, priced and checked. The longest and most misunderstood of them is Heraklion Airport to Chania, with fares and the two-leg bus route.
Whichever airport you land at, here is where to find things to do.
Everything on this page is drawn from the project's own published reporting, aviation records and operators' published fare lists, last checked on 30 July 2026. No fare, timetable or drive time is quoted anywhere above for the new airport, because none has been published.
This page will change a great deal between now and the opening. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.