Kalamata International Airport

Kalamata International Airport "Captain Vassilis Constantakopoulos" is an airport in the city of Kalamata, Greece. It mainly receives flights during the summer. In March 2013, Aegean Airlines opened a base in the airport.

Overview

Civilian airport

The airport is located between Kalamata and Messini on GR-82 and west of the train tracks on the Pamisos River plain. The runway is about 2.7 km long and runs from north to south from the highway north to the plain. The terminal lies to the east and is accessed with GR-7/E55/E65.

Military air base

There is a military base of the Hellenic Air Force and since 1976, an air-training center, the Instrument Flight Training Center of the 120th Air Training Wing to the west of the runway. Since 2021, the military air base houses the International Flight Training Center after a collaboration of Elbit Systems and HAF. The air base uses the same runway as civilian aircraft.

History

Kalamata International Airport was opened in 1959. Charter flights began to operate out of the airport in 1986 and a new terminal was built in 1991. The same year Hellenic Civil Aviation took over as operator of the airport. In 2012 the airport was renamed after Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Kalamata Airport:

Accidents and incidents

On 16 October 1971, an NAMC YS-11 turboprop regional airliner of Olympic Airways was hijacked. It had departed from Kalamata International Airport to Hellinikon International Airport. There was one hijacker, who demanded to be taken to Lebanon. All 64 passengers and crew survived after the aircraft was stormed and the hijacker arrested. The hijacking lasted less than a day.
In November 2001, fourteen plane spotters were arrested by the police after being observed photographing aircraft at the air base.
On the 18th June 2025, Ryanair flight FR6080 arriving from London Stansted operated by the 737 MAX 8200 collided with a fence on the runway after landing safely which clipped and torn the right wingtip. The aircraft underwent inspections and maintenance and it returned to service a day later. There were no reported injuries.

Ground Transport

Travelling to and from Kalamata Airport by bus is convenient, with good connections between the Airport and Kalamata. The bus pick up and drop off point is located close to the terminal building. Bus rides between the airport and Kalamata take 20 – 25 minutes.
The airport has been criticised for the lack of public transport. The only way to reach the airport is by car, taxi or bus. The neighboring railway line to Messini and Kalamata was shut down in 2011.