The two-year delay in opening Crete’s new international airport at Kastelli is now turning into a financial dispute for the Municipality of Minoa Pediada.
Mayor Vasilis Kegeroglou has asked the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport for detailed financial information so the municipality can calculate the revenue it says it stands to lose because the airport’s opening has been postponed to February 6, 2027.
The municipality’s request follows a compensation agreement involving the airport company over revenue losses resulting from the 24-month delay.
And Minoa Pediada wants to know whether it should receive compensation too.
The conflict centers on the original Concession Agreement for Kastelli Airport:
| Financial Element | Contractual Terms & Estimates |
| Compensatory Fee Rate | 2% of total projected airport operating revenues. |
| Direct Municipal Share | 50% of fee (1% of gross revenues) allocated directly to Minoa Pediadas Municipality. |
| 29-Year Contract Valuation | Projected at €114.8 million total according to State General Accounting Office estimates. |
| Projected Annual Revenue | Approximately €1.98 million per year, directly to municipal funds. |
| Concessionaire Settlement | DAIK S.A. evaluated lost revenue compensation at €121.5 million for the 24-month delay. |
Under the airport concession agreement, a compensatory payment is linked to a percentage of the airport company’s projected revenues. Half of that amount, equivalent to 1% of the projected revenues, is allocated directly to the Municipality of Minoa Pediada.
According to figures cited by the municipality from a 2019 General Accounting Office report, that municipal share was originally estimated at approximately €114.8 million over the 29-year concession period, or around €3.96 million annually based on the figures available at the time.
The 1% municipal share would correspond to approximately €1.98 million annually under those original calculations.
The municipality is not, however, claiming that €1.98 million is automatically the amount it is owed for the delay. It is seeking the underlying financial data first, so it can determine the actual impact of the postponed opening and pursue what it considers its contractual rights.
In his letter to the Ministry, Kegeroglou requested electronic copies of the documents used to calculate the airport company’s compensation.
Among the requested material are the airport company’s assessment of lost revenue, the full compensation agreement dated December 31, 2024, and the calculations behind reported compensation figures of €121.489 million and €39.737 million.
The municipality is also asking for the approved financial model governing the concession, projected airport operating revenues for the two years affected by the delay, and detailed information on the Airport Modernization and Development Fee, or TΕΑΑ, included in the compensation calculations.
It is also requesting any subsequent updates or revisions to the financial model.
The new Kastelli airport was originally expected to begin operating earlier, but its opening has now been pushed back by 24 months to February 2027.
For the municipality that hosts the project, the delay is not simply a question of waiting longer for the new airport to open.
Its revenues are contractually connected to the airport’s operation, meaning that a later start could also mean a later or smaller flow of income.
Kegeroglou says the requested information is necessary for the municipality to establish precisely how the delay affects its expected revenues and to exercise its legal and contractual rights.
The mayor has expressly reserved the municipality’s right to pursue those claims.
So while the airport company has already been looking at compensation for the two-year delay, Minoa Pediada is now effectively asking the same question from the municipality’s side:
If the airport loses revenue because the opening is late, what does the municipality lose, and who is going to pay for that?
