Airport Guide: Thessaloniki Airport
Thessaloniki Airport, which is also known as Makedonia Airport, is the second biggest airport in Greece after Athens Airport. Especially in summer, several airlines fly to Thessaloniki Airport. The airport itself is rather small, but offers dining and shopping facilities, two airport lounges as well as some decent seating areas. Learn more in our airport guide!
Thessaloniki Airport is not only the second busiest airport in Greece, it is also the airport with the second most business routes.
Aegean Airlines is the most important carrier at Thessaloniki Airport
The Greek flag carrier Aegean Airlines for example flies to Athens, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Larnaca, Moscow, Munich and Stuttgart all year long. Other important carriers at the airport with two runways and one terminal are Ryanair, Ellinair and Astra Airlines.
Most important carriers at Thessaloniki Airport:
- Aegean Airlines: Several all year and seasonal destinations in Europe
- Ryanair: Several all year and seasonal destinations in Europe
- Ellinair: Several all year and seasons destinations in Eastern Europe and Russia
- Astra Airlines: Several PSO services and seasons destinations
Dining and shopping at Thessaloniki Airport
Thessaloniki Airport is one of the older airports in Europe and though is not laid out for shopping. That said, there are only a few shops in the whole airport, which mainly sell duty free items. The number of restaurants and bars is also limited.
There are a few shops and dining outlets at Thessaloniki Airport
Nevertheless, you’ll be able to grab a snack either prior security or after security. If you are looking for real meals or decent shopping, you’re definitely at the wrong place at Thessaloniki Airport.
Sleeping at Thessaloniki Airport
There are no dedicated sleeping facilities at Thessaloniki Airport, but it’s theoretically possible to spend a night at the airport. There are benches without armrests, so sleeping is possible. Nevertheless, hotels at Thessaloniki Airport are definitely the more comfortable option.
Hotels like The Excelsior in the city center are located 30 minutes away from the airport
While there are no typical airport hotels, several holiday properties are just a few kilometers away. These include luxury choices like the Hyatt Regency or Nikopolis and also more basic hotels like Iris Hotel (two stars), Athina Airport (three stars) and Hotel Royal (four stars). Depending on the season, the prices even for the luxury resorts are pretty reasonable!
Lounges at Thessaloniki Airport
Even though the airport is rather small, Thessaloniki Airport surprisingly has two lounges. Aegean Airlines operates an own lounge, which is accessible for eligible Star Alliance passengers only.
Aegean offers its passengers a rather nice lounge in Thessaloniki
Moreover, there’s also an independent lounge, which is called Manolis Andronikos Lounge. This one may be accessed by eligible SkyTeam passengers as well as holders of a Priority Pass. You may also access this lounge by paying at the entrance.
Lounges at Thessaloniki Airport:
- Aegean Business Lounge: *A BC, *A G
- Manolis Andronikos Lounge: ST BC, ST EP, PP
Transportation at Thessaloniki Airport
The transportation network in Thessaloniki is not very well developed as you can also learn in our transportation guide. To get from the airport to the city center, there are two choices.
Transportation to the city center is not very well organized
You may either take the airport bus, which operates 24 hours a day (during the day as bus 78 and in the night as bus 78N) and costs 2 Euro (~ 2.15 US-Dollar) for the single ride. The other option is taking a taxi, which costs 15 to 20 Euro (~ 16 to 22 US-Dollar) depending on where you are going. During the night, there might be an extra charge for taking a taxi.
- Bus lines 78 and 78N connect the airport with the city center
- Taxis to the city center cost 15 to 20 Euro (~ 16 to 22 US-Dollar)
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