When Greek MP Haris Mamoulakis stood in Brussels and explained to European transport officials that Crete — the fourth largest island in Europe, a tourism powerhouse, and home to one of the busiest flight corridors in the Mediterranean — is preparing to open a brand-new international airport without a rail link, the reaction in the room was almost theatrical.
A collective:
“How is that possible?“
And honestly, that is the same question Cretans have been quietly (and very loudly) asking for years.
The truth is simple:
Crete is about to open the only major international airport in the entire EU with no form of fixed–track transportation. No train. No tram. Not even a concrete plan on paper.
Mamoulakis, speaking from the European Rural Mobility Network, did not soften it.
He called it exactly what it is: isolation disguised as progress.
For decades, Crete has relied almost entirely on private cars and intercity buses. However, there is a problem: according to official statistics, 31,000 households in Heraklion do not own a car. For them, reaching work, healthcare, services — and one day the new Kasteli Airport — is not simply inconvenient.
It is what Mamoulakis defined as transport poverty: exclusion from mobility due to the state’s failure to build alternatives.
And here is where Brussels becomes a character in this story.
Contrary to what many assume, the EU has no issue funding a rail connection. In fact, EU transport officials made it explicitly clear: the money exists.
The tools exist.
Crete qualifies.
What does not exist is a Greek national plan requesting it.
To put it bluntly:
Europe is not refusing.
Greece has not asked.
This changes everything. The excuses about budget limitations or technical challenges are immediately dismissed. Crete is on the verge of opening a multibillion-euro airport, yet the project risks becoming an isolated hub — a modern facility wrapped in outdated access roads.
Mamoulakis insists the Kasteli–Heraklion rail connection must move into mandatory, immediate negotiation for EU funding.
Not “some day.”
Not “when the study is ready.”
Now.
Brussels has already stated that the funding tools are ready.
Local communities say the need is urgent.
Tourism pressure keeps rising.
Environmental concerns demand modern transport, not another decade of congested roads.
On November 6, during the ERMN conference, specialists presented exactly what regions like Crete must adopt: rail or tram systems that reduce dependence on cars, improve accessibility, and build long-term economic stability. For Crete, a destination that handles millions of travelers per year, the argument is not only logical — it is unavoidable.
And yet, while Brussels discusses accessibility, sustainability, and equitable mobility, Crete is still arguing about who parked on the bus stop, whether the road outside the bakery will ever be widened, and why airplanes shake living rooms at two in the morning.
The gap between EU-level planning and local reality is no longer amusing. It is defining.
Mamoulakis ended his statement with a line that perfectly captures the island’s dilemma:
“Demand, do not wait.”
Because waiting is exactly how Crete ended up with a world-class airport and no modern way to reach it.
The door to funding is open.
The question is whether Greece will ever step through it.
