Old Airport Elliniko

The Airport of Elliniko was the official Athens International Airport for more than 60 years until March 2001, when it was shut down to replaced by "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport. The Airport of Elliniko was built in 1938 by the architect - civil engineer Nikolaos Salvarlis.

At that time he had a 1,800 meters landing runway and in 1950, he acquired a second corridor of 2,250 meters. Usually, only the western (Alimos) side operated, but in 1969, the eastern terminal, which was designed by the American-Polish architect E. Saarinen, was inaugurated. In 1970, the main runway was extended to 3,500 meters while concurrently the Hellenic government instructed Aeroports de Paris and Frankfurt Airport to select a suitable airport transfer location. Spata was chosen, but construction was never undertaken. In 2001, the airport was closed forever. In April 2011, the Olympic Airways Museum at the western terminal opened, which included 3 aircraft that were parked at the airport closure.

Moreover, in 2004, due to the Olympic Games, 2 Baseball fields with a capacity of 8,700 and 4,000 seats, a Kaneo-Kayak Slalom Center, a 14,100-seat indoor court, and a 5,000-seat fencing hall were built in the closed airport lot. Also in the domain of the installation are housed the National Meteorological Service and the Air Traffic Control Centers of Athens and Macedonia Civil Aviation.

Today, the Ellinikon Project is being implemented on the site of the old airport. Something extraordinary is being created here!