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:
This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(May 2023)
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
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Samos Airport:
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Annual passenger traffic at SMI airport.
See Wikidata query.
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]
Year
Passengers
Domestic
International
Total
1994
121.370
296.640
418.010
1995
132.269
282.192
414.461
1996
141.864
264.430
406.294
1997
149.564
263.334
412.898
1998
146.056
277.498
423.554
1999
189.132
314.704
503.836
2000
180.446
287.948
468.394
2001
154.004
304.686
458.690
2002
141.362
283.488
424.850
2003
142.212
266.835
409.047
2004
153.067
240.562
393.629
2005
155.534
236.593
392.127
2006
190.879
260.039
450.918
2007
216.605
265.382
481.987
2008
204.873
266.993
471.866
2009
216.174
230.968
447.142
2010
193.530
217.035
410.565
2011
172.672
236.048
408.720
2012
149.664
214.984
364.648
2013
136.641
207.076
343.717
2014
151.107
245.201
396.308
2015
149.302
253.848
403.150
2016
153.240
193.540
346.780
2017
161.313
248.972
410.331
2018
159.763
290.128
449.891
2019
168.892
298.503
467.395
2020
100.669
43.630
144.299
2021
131,580
138,718
270,298
2022
174,647
278,617
453,264
2023
193,356
283,950
477,306
2024(Oct)
174.839
295.133
469.972
Traffic statistics by country (2022)
Traffic by country at Samos International Airport – 2022[20]
Place
Country
Total passengers
1
Greece
174,647
2
Netherlands
65,079
3
Germany
59,112
4
Sweden
27,007
5
Denmark
23,656
6
Poland
17,803
7
Belgium
14,944
8
Italy
13,488
9
Norway
13,011
10
Czech Republic
11,849
11
Finland
7,715
12
Slovenia
7,625
13
United Kingdom
6,827
14
Switzerland
4,282
15
Austria
3,599
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]