Israir Airlines and Tourism Ltd and Arkia Airlines Ltd. are set to launch scheduled routes to Crete's Heraklion International Airport and Rhodes' Diagoras International Airport. Heraklion Airport is Crete's Island main gateway to the world.
Officially known as the Heraklion Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport is located about 5 km (3 miles) east of the main city of Heraklion, near the municipality of Nea Alikarnassos.
The airport is the second-busiest airport in Greece after Athens International Airport. The Rhodes facility is located just north of the village Paradisi, about 14 km southwest of the capital city,Rodos.
Rhodes International Airport is the third busiest airport of Greece. The move was made possible after permission granted last week by Minister of Transport Yisrael Katz to resume scheduled flights between Ben Gurion Airport and Crete and Rhodes.
The Israeli transport minister approved the recommendation of the Israel Civil Aviation Authority to grant Arkia and Israir scheduled carrier status on these routes. The permission was granted on the basis of the Israeli-Greek aviation agreement signed in October 2010. Until now, there have only been charter flights to Crete.
