Athens to Rhodes
Private Charter
Athens to Rhodes is about 55 minutes on a light jet, 218 nautical miles from Athens International across the Aegean to Diagoras, fourteen kilometres from Rhodes town, or about two hours on a twin-engine helicopter that can go on to Lindos or a villa pad. It is the far end of the Dodecanese, and the longest runway in the Greek islands takes anything we broker. No clock change on the longest hop from the Athens desk.
Reviewed by Kevin Singh, Founder · Fact-checked against Icarus Jet fleet and airport operations data · Last updated 11 September 2026
Route overview
Airport and airspace facts checked against the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority publications and Icarus Jet operations data.
Get your number
Get a number for your dates
Tell us the dates, the passengers and where on Rhodes you are staying. The desk quotes the jet or the helicopter that fits the group, files the Rhodes slot, and tells you what the number covers before you book.
Prefer to talk? Call +1 888 277 7203. The desk is staffed 24/7.
The route
Why fly private from Athens to Rhodes?
Athens to Rhodes is the Dodecanese sector on the Athens desk: 218 nautical miles, about 55 minutes on a light jet, and a landing on the island with the longest runway in the Greek islands, fourteen kilometres from the medieval town. Lindos and the east coast are an hour by road, and the helicopter that flies the same sector in about two hours lands there instead. The ferry from Piraeus takes most of a day.
Why private works here
Rhodes is the far end of the Dodecanese, most of a day from Piraeus by ferry and 55 minutes from Athens International by light jet, with the aircraft parked at Diagoras and the car doing the twenty minutes into the medieval town or the hour to Lindos. No airline connection through Athens in August. The jet is there for the way home or for Kos and Karpathos. The twin-engine helicopter from Athens or Megara is two hours over open sea, and it is the answer only when the week is a Dodecanese tour: it lands at Lindos or a villa pad with approval and reaches Symi in minutes.
Helicopter or aircraft
Rhodes is the longest sector on the Athens desk and the most open water: 218 nautical miles, the Cyclades passing underneath and then the Dodecanese, with almost none of it over land. That makes it a jet sector; the desk quotes a Citation CJ or Phenom 300 first, six to seven passengers with a week's luggage in about 55 minutes. A King Air carries eight with heavier bags in about an hour and a quarter. A twin-engine helicopter takes two hours over the sea and is quoted for a Dodecanese week that goes on to Symi by air, or for a villa pad at Lindos, never for the straight transfer.
Advisor note
Rhodes is the easiest big island in Greece to fly to: a 10,843 foot runway, customs on site, room for anything we broker up to a long-range jet from the Gulf or America, and a summer slot that the desk files with the trip. The two-hour helicopter is a real option for a Dodecanese week, and for a straight transfer from Athens the jet wins.
Icarus Jet charter deskCost
What determines the cost of an Athens to Rhodes private charter?
A one-hour island sector is priced on the aircraft, the trip shape, the slot and the dates. These are the things that move the number on Athens to Rhodes.
Aircraft
The light jet is the first quote for Rhodes: 55 minutes over open water is where a jet earns its number. A King Air saves money for eight with bags and adds twenty minutes. The twin-engine helicopter, at two hours, is the most expensive way to Rhodes and is bought for a Dodecanese tour or the Lindos landing, not for a transfer.
Round trip or two one-ways
A day on Rhodes keeps the jet on the big apron at Diagoras, which has room to wait. A week is two one-way flights, or a one-way and an onward leg to Symi, Kos or Turkey across the strait with its own permit. The desk quotes the shape and says where the money goes.
Slots, the apron and daylight
Athens is Level 3 slot coordinated and Rhodes is coordinated in the summer, so the desk files both together. Diagoras has the longest runway in the Greek islands and a large apron, so the slot is the constraint on Rhodes rather than the parking. A villa or hotel pad at Lindos for the helicopter needs the owner's approval, and the flight is planned between sunrise and sunset.
Handling and parking at Rhodes
Handling at Diagoras is arranged with the slot, and parking for a stay of several days is confirmed before departure. The long runway and the large apron make Rhodes easier than the Cyclades in August.
The season
July and August are the tightest weeks for slots at Rhodes and for aircraft out of Athens. Those dates book weeks ahead; the spring and autumn months, long on Rhodes, are easier.
What the number covers
We tell you what the quote covers before you book and we hold the operator to the number we gave you. No surprises on the invoice is the point of using the desk.
Aircraft
Which aircraft flies Athens to Rhodes?
Diagoras takes anything up to a long-range jet, and the light jet is quoted first for the two hundred miles of open sea. These are the three quoted most on Athens to Rhodes.
Citation CJ and Phenom 300 class
Six to seven passengers in about 55 minutes, and the usual answer for Rhodes from Athens.
King Air 200 and 350 class
Eight passengers with proper luggage in about an hour and a quarter, and the right money for a family with bags.
Airbus H145 and AW139 class
Six to twelve passengers with light luggage in about two hours over the Aegean, landing at Lindos, a hotel or a villa pad with approval, and the helicopter for a Dodecanese week.
See the aircraft we broker and the helicopters we broker for the full range.
Before you fly
What should I know before flying Athens to Rhodes?
The leg is domestic even if the trip is not. Athens to Rhodes has no customs on the flight and passports or EU ID are checked at the aircraft. Rhodes has customs and a runway for long-range aircraft, so a jet from Dubai or Riyadh can land at Diagoras direct and skip Athens entirely.
Rhodes International is the arrival. Diagoras has a single 10,843 foot runway at 19 feet, about fourteen kilometres south west of Rhodes town at Paradisi, with customs on site, so it also takes a jet direct from abroad, including long-range aircraft from the Gulf. The summer slot is lodged alongside the Athens slot. Lindos is about an hour by road; a helicopter with the villa's approval lands at the door.
On the Athens side, the helicopter lifts from Athens International or from Megara. Athens International is where an arriving jet parks and where most island helicopters load, 20 miles east of the city at Spata, under a Level 3 slot with mandatory handling. Megara, the Army helicopter base west of the city with a civil apron, takes helicopters and light aircraft by day with no permission needed and is the quieter lift for a trip that starts in Athens itself. Tatoi and Elefsis are military fields closed to visiting aircraft, whatever the map suggests.
No time change and a Dodecanese week. Symi is minutes away by helicopter, Kos and Karpathos have runways, and Turkey is across the strait. The desk quotes the Dodecanese legs with the Athens flight, a jet for Kos and Karpathos and a helicopter for Symi.
When to go
When is the best time to fly Athens to Rhodes?
April to October is the season, one of the longest in Greece because Rhodes is so far south east. July and August are the tightest weeks for slots at Rhodes and for aircraft out of Athens, and book weeks ahead. April to June and September to October give the far south east its long season without the August slot queue.
Out of season Diagoras and its long runway are quiet, the slot comes through at once and a few days of notice is enough.
Related
Athens airport guides
The Athens fields the Rhodes sector lifts from, with runways, slots and helicopter operations on their own guides. Rhodes gets its guide as the Dodecanese set is published.
Questions
Athens to Rhodes private charter questions
How long is a private flight from Athens to Rhodes?
About 55 minutes on a light jet, about 1 hour 15 on a King Air and about two hours on a twin-engine helicopter. The sector is 218 nautical miles from Athens International to Diagoras.
Which airport do private jets use in Rhodes?
Rhodes International, Diagoras, fourteen kilometres south west of Rhodes town at Paradisi. Its 10,843 foot runway is the longest in the Greek islands and there is customs on site, so the field accepts everything up to a long-range jet from the Gulf, and an aircraft from abroad lands there without an Athens stop.
Can I fly a helicopter from Athens to Rhodes?
Yes. A twin-engine helicopter does it in about two hours over the Aegean and can land at Lindos, a hotel or a villa pad with approval. It is the choice for a Dodecanese week; for a straight transfer the jet is quicker.
Which aircraft is best for Athens to Rhodes?
A light jet is quoted first for Rhodes, a Citation CJ or Phenom 300 class for six to seven, because 218 nautical miles of open water in 55 minutes is a jet's job. A King Air 200 or 350 carries eight with heavier bags for less and adds twenty minutes. The twin-engine helicopter is for a Dodecanese week.
Does Rhodes need a slot?
In the summer, yes. The desk files the Rhodes slot with the trip along with the Athens slot, and confirms parking if the aircraft stays. The large apron makes Rhodes easier than the Cyclades in August.
What determines the cost of an Athens to Rhodes charter?
The aircraft first, since a jet, a King Air and a two-hour helicopter are three different numbers for Rhodes. After that, a day return against two one-ways, the Rhodes and Athens slots with handling, parking on the Diagoras apron if the aircraft stays, and the dates against July and August. What the number covers is set out before you book.
Can I fly Rhodes to Athens on the same page?
Yes. The sector is quoted in both directions, with the aircraft positioning in from Athens for the pickup at Rhodes. For a week on the island the desk usually prices two one-way flights, and the large apron at Diagoras makes parking easier than the Cyclades if the aircraft stays. Put Rhodes as the departure in the form.
Can I fly from abroad straight to Rhodes?
Yes. Rhodes has customs and a runway for long-range jets, so an aircraft from London, Dubai or Riyadh lands there directly. Athens to Rhodes is the leg for a trip that has started in Athens or arrived there.
Can I continue from Rhodes to Symi, Kos or Turkey?
Yes. Symi is minutes from Rhodes by helicopter, Kos and Karpathos have runways for the jet, and Turkey lies across the strait under its own permit. The desk prices the Dodecanese tour as a single itinerary with the Athens flight, so the jet or the helicopter that brought you carries on rather than a fresh charter.
Where does a helicopter land on Rhodes?
At Diagoras, beside the jets on the large apron, or at Lindos, a hotel or a villa pad on the island with the owner's approval, which the desk obtains before it quotes. Rhodes helicopters fly in daylight, so after two hours from Athens the villa landing is timed for before sunset; a later arrival uses the airport.
When is the best time to fly to Rhodes?
April to October, one of the longest seasons in Greece because Rhodes sits so far south east. Spring and autumn are the easy months: slots come through, aircraft out of Athens are free and the island is warm. July and August are the busiest weeks for Rhodes slots and aircraft and book weeks ahead.
How much notice do I need to book Athens to Rhodes?
Weeks ahead in July and August, when the Rhodes slot and the aircraft out of Athens are both at their tightest, though the large apron at Diagoras means parking is rarely the problem it is in the Cyclades. In the long spring and autumn shoulder the desk confirms within days, and out of season a few days is plenty.
Other routes
Other routes from the Athens desk
Sectors the same desk quotes every week, each with its own guide to the airports, the aircraft and the timing.
Get your number
Athens to Rhodes, quoted from the desk
Give us the dates, the passengers and where on Rhodes you are staying. You will get the jet for the crossing or the helicopter for the Dodecanese week, the Rhodes and Athens slots filed and a number you can hold us to.
Get a number for your datesPrefer to talk? Call +1 888 277 7203 or email charter@icarusjet.com, or send the trip online. The desk is staffed 24/7.