- Record arrivals at Heraklion’s Nikos Kazantzakis Airport turn access roads into parking lots.
- Ikarou Avenue becomes a daily bottleneck with double-parking and gridlock.
- Friday traffic reached a breaking point, testing both locals and visitors.
- Police presence eased congestion only after hours of chaos.
- Calls grow for a serious traffic management plan before the new airport opens.
Heraklion’s airport traffic jams have become a summer ritual. Each season brings promises of improvement, and each week delivers the same outcome: chaos. On Friday afternoon, as hundreds of flights touched down, the city’s main artery to the airport — Ikarou Avenue — ground to a halt.
The scene was familiar. Endless queues of cars trapped in the heat, drivers honking in frustration, passengers checking their watches with rising panic. The “gate of rage” at the airport entrance, already notorious in local reports, once again lived up to its name.
Friday at the Breaking Point
By 14:00, the situation reached its peak. Hundreds of cars stood immobilized, patience evaporating as quickly as the petrol. The airport saw a record number of arrivals, while the roads outside experienced record misery.
Traffic police tried to impose order, but even with sirens and whistles the sheer volume of cars turned their job into damage control. By 15:00, relief came, though only partially. The queues shrank, but movement along Ikarou Avenue remained sluggish, the kind of crawl that makes ten minutes feel like an hour.
Tourists Caught in the Trap
For visitors, this was not the welcome they expected from Crete’s capital. Trapped in rental cars or taxis, many spent as much time in traffic as they did in the air. For locals, it was another reminder that Heraklion’s infrastructure is running at its limits, straining to host both residents and record tourist numbers.
Friday traffic jams at the airport are no longer news. They are routine. Every summer, every weekend, the story repeats: double-parking, gridlock, tempers boiling. Authorities promise better coordination, but the reality remains unchanged.
As the new Kastelli airport approaches completion, the old “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport continues to demonstrate why a replacement is necessary. Until then, visitors and locals alike will keep testing their endurance in the same lines of traffic, wondering why the journey to or from Crete’s busiest airport must feel like a punishment.
