- 7% rise in total passenger traffic at Heraklion Airport.
- Over 6 million travelers have been handled since January.
- 12% jump in domestic arrivals, 6% rise in international.
- Germans top the charts, Brits close behind with +11%.
- France, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, and Israel are also climbing.
- August alone brought in nearly 1 million passengers.
- 400 flights a day at peak, one landing or takeoff every two minutes.
- Hotels are packed, but staff unions warn of burnout.
Heathrow with Sunbeds
The numbers look like something out of an aviation fantasy. Since the start of the year, Heraklion’s Nikos Kazantzakis Airport has processed more than 6 million passengers—a record-breaking 7% increase from 2024.
August was particularly wild: nearly one million people funneled through the terminals, a surge confirmed by Airport Director Iakovos Ouranos, who sounded pleased, if slightly overwhelmed.
It is not just busy; it is frenetic. Planes land or take off every two minutes, with more than 400 flights per day during peak stretches. Crete may be known for olives and sun, but right now it runs on jet fuel.
Tourists Up, Workers Down
The Germans are still the champions of Cretan tourism. Still, the British are closing in fast, booking holidays at an 11% higher rate this year. Add surging numbers from France, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, and Israel, and you have an island bursting at the seams.
Hotels are fully booked through August, with Giorgos Pelekanakis predicting only a slight dip in early autumn. Crete is hot, in every sense of the word.
But not everyone is clinking glasses. Nikos Kokolakis, president of the Heraklion Hotel Employees Union, says hotel staff are running on fumes. Behind the glittering numbers of this “golden season,” the human cost looks more like a marathon with no finish line.
