Athens
Charter Routes

Nine sectors from Athens, most of them helicopter transfers. The islands decide the aircraft: a forty-minute slot rule at Santorini, no jet fuel at Paros and Naxos, no airport at all at Patmos and Amanzoe. The helicopter lifts from where the jet has parked.

Reviewed by Kevin Singh, Founder · Fact-checked against Icarus Jet fleet and airport operations data · Last updated 11 September 2026

Charter routes

Where can you fly by helicopter from Athens?

Athens is the helicopter desk, the base for a Greek summer that runs from May to October. Two fields lift the islands: Athens International at Spata, where an arriving jet parks and most helicopters load, and Megara west of the city, the quieter base for a trip that starts in Athens itself. The first decision on every trip is the landing, because the island airports in season give a jet forty minutes on the ground and no parking, and a hotel pad needs the venue's approval before anything is quoted. What flies from here falls into three kinds of sector: the Cyclades by helicopter, the longer crossings to the Dodecanese and the Peloponnese resorts, and the big-island sectors to Crete and Corfu where a jet and a helicopter both work. The nine routes below are the ones the desk quotes most, and each opens to its own guide with the flight time, the distance, the aircraft that fit and the airports at both ends.

ATH · JMKAthens to Mykonos45 to 55 min airborne, 73 nm, single or twin-engine helicopter. In season the island airport gives a jet forty minutes on the ground and no parking; the helicopter lands where you are going.View route → ATH · JTRAthens to Santorini65 to 80 min airborne, 118 nm, single or twin-engine helicopter. The airport gives a jet forty minutes on the ground in season and no parking; the helicopter arrives over the caldera and lands at the airport helipad or the hotel.View route → ATH · PASAthens to Paros35 to 55 min airborne, 78 nm, helicopter or turboprop. Paros is the island for people who want the Cyclades without Mykonos, and it has a small airport, no jet fuel and no customs, which decides the aircraft.View route → ATH · JNXAthens to Naxos45 to 60 min airborne, 85 nm, helicopter or light turboprop. Naxos has the beaches and the mountain villages without the Mykonos crowd, and an airstrip that takes only light aircraft, which decides how you get there.View route → ATH · AMZAthens to Amanzoe20 to 30 min airborne, 48 nm, single or twin-engine helicopter. By road it is about two and a half hours around the coast.View route → ATH · PMSAthens to Patmos75 to 90 min airborne, 129 nm, twin-engine helicopter. Patmos has no airport and the ferry from Piraeus takes seven hours or more, so the helicopter is how the island is reached in a morning.View route → ATH · RHOAthens to Rhodes55 min to 2 hr airborne, 218 nm, light jet or twin-engine helicopter. It is the far end of the Dodecanese, and the longest runway in the Greek islands takes anything we broker.View route → ATH · HERAthens to Heraklion45 min to 1 hr 30 airborne, 167 nm, light jet or twin-engine helicopter. Crete is the biggest island in Greece and its airport takes anything we broker.View route → ATH · CFUAthens to Corfu50 min to 1 hr 50 airborne, 214 nm, light jet or twin-engine helicopter. It is the Ionian sector, the other side of Greece from the Cyclades, and the airport takes anything we broker.View route →

Airport and airspace facts across these routes are checked against the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority publications and Icarus Jet operations data.

Flying from Athens

What the Athens desk knows

Athens International, ATH / LGAV

The Greek gateway at Spata, about 20 miles east of the city: two runways of 13,123 and 12,467 feet, Level 3 slots and mandatory handling. It is the parking base behind every island trip, allowing about twelve hours with slots issued up to seven days ahead and overnight parking confirmed only a day before. See the Athens guide.

Megara, LGMG

A Hellenic Army helicopter base west of Athens with a civil general aviation apron, VFR operations and a 3,953 foot runway. Light aircraft and helicopters only: the desk does not file jets here. Day visits need no permission; an overnight needs PPR 48 hours ahead. See the Megara guide.

The 14-day rule

Slots and prior permission can be requested only 14 days before the date of flight, at every Greek airport. In summer the island fields give a jet forty minutes on the ground and no overnight, and a denied slot that is reoffered must be accepted within thirty minutes, so the desk files the day the window opens. The Greece trip support guide has the detail.

Mykonos and Santorini

Mykonos, on a 6,244 foot runway exposed to the summer meltemi, puts scheduled operators first and holds about seven jets on the ramp. Santorini, on 7,208 feet shared with the Hellenic Air Force, limits ground time to 40 minutes between 0500Z and 1800Z. Neither offers parking in season.

Paros

The new Paros airport opened in 2016 with a 4,593 foot runway that suits light jets and turboprops. It is slot coordinated but far less pressured than Mykonos, handling is not mandatory, and it is the honest answer for Paros and Antiparos on the right aircraft.

The helicopter last mile

The jet waits on the mainland and the passengers finish the journey by helicopter, sunrise to sunset, limited by weight rather than seats. The helicopter charter page covers the aircraft and the Athens private jet charter page covers the jet.

Airport guides

The airports behind the Athens routes

The fields these sectors leave from and land at, with runways, slots, permits and handling on their own guides, written by the desk that files the paperwork.

ATHAthens InternationalSpata, 20 miles east of the city, Level 3 slots, the helicopter apron MEGMegaraWest of Athens, helicopters and light aircraft only, no permission for day flights JTRSantorini Airport and the island helipads7,208 ft runway, Level 3 slot and PPR, 40 minutes on the ground in season, hotel pads by approval JMKMykonos Airport and the island helipadsAirport, Ornos, Kalo Livadi, Scorpios, Nammos and Santanna with the venue's approval PASParos Airport and the island helipads4,593 ft runway, Level 3 slot, no jet fuel, no customs, light aircraft and helicopters

More Route Desks

Charter routes beyond Athens

Three more charter desks, each with the routes it flies most.

EuropeMykonos Charter RoutesSantorini, Paros, Naxos and more.View routes → EuropeItaly Charter RoutesRome, Florence, Olbia and more.View routes → AfricaCairo Charter RoutesLuxor, Aswan, Sharm El Sheikh and more.View routes →

Questions

Athens charter route questions

Why are the Athens routes helicopter transfers?

Because the island airports in season give a jet a slot and a short time on the ground, Paros and Naxos have no jet fuel, and Patmos and Amanzoe have no runway at all. A helicopter needs none of that and lands at the airport helipad or a pad with approval.

Where does the helicopter leave from?

Athens International at Spata, where an arriving jet parks and most island helicopters load, or Megara, the helicopter base west of the city, by day with no permission needed.

How long are the Athens sectors?

From about 25 minutes to Amanzoe to about 80 minutes to Patmos by helicopter. Mykonos is about 50 minutes, Santorini about 70, Paros and Naxos about 55. Corfu, Heraklion and Rhodes are 45 to 55 minutes by jet.

Which helicopter flies the islands?

A single-engine H130 class for four with light luggage on the shorter sectors, a twin-engine H145 or AW109 class for six to eight over the longer crossings, and an AW139 for up to twelve.

Can the helicopter land at my hotel?

At a hotel, beach club or villa pad with the venue's approval, which the desk secures before it quotes. Helicopters on the islands operate sunrise to sunset.

What is the forty-minute rule at Santorini?

In season a jet at Santorini is approved for a maximum of forty minutes on the ground between 0500Z and 1800Z, with no parking, so it drops you and flies back to Athens. A helicopter is not subject to it.

Can I fly a jet to Athens and a helicopter onward?

Yes, and it is the usual plan when no island slot can be had. The jet parks at Athens, where the island aircraft wait, and the helicopter flies the last leg. The desk quotes it as one itinerary.

Is there customs on the island sectors?

No. They are domestic flights within Greece. Bring passports or EU ID for the crew to check, and clear customs at Athens if you have arrived from abroad.

How much notice does an Athens sector need?

Four to six weeks in July and August, when the helicopters out of Athens and the pad approvals both tighten. A few days is comfortable in May, June, September and October.

Can I fly between the islands?

Yes. Mykonos to Santorini, Paros to Mykonos and the rest of the Cyclades are short helicopter hops in season, and the desk quotes the whole week as one itinerary.

Get your number

Flying from Athens? Quoted from the desk

Tell us the dates, the passengers and the sector. You get an aircraft that fits, the paperwork filed and a number you can hold us to. For the airport choice in brief, see the Athens private jet charter page.

Prefer to talk? Call +1 888 277 7203 or email charter@icarusjet.com. The desk is staffed 24/7.

Athens Charter Routes