Greece airport parking and private jets: Alternative Options in Mykonos and Athens

Summer season in Greece only means one thing for crews and passengers planning a trip during the peak season to enjoy breathtaking scenes of the Greek Isles and learn about the culture and ancient history of Athens: a shortage of parking spaces for private aircraft. This unfortunate trend is an outcome of mismanaged commercial air traffic impacting general aviation in one of the hottest summer destinations in Europe. Gladly there are alternatives for private jet owners, crews, and passengers to enjoy a seamless travel experience in Greece.

While it’s a fact that private jet parking slots in Mykonos and Athens are limited, there are other options in place – while they may require a bit more planning, fuel, and flight time, they have parking spaces, and some even allow overnight stays. We will review which are these options and explain the importance of working with an experienced trip support partner like Icarus Jet, which has knowledge of coordinating operations in the top summer destinations in Greece while maintaining an open line of communication with local aviation authorities.

Parking Options for Private Jets in Mykonos

Mykonos is a popular tourist destination in Greece and its airport faces significant aircraft parking challenges, especially during the peak tourist season. The main reasons behind this situation are overall limited parking capacity and ramp space, which can lead to delays and overall inconveniences as well as huge traffic volumes during peak season – the number of flights and aircraft that arrive at Mykonos airport can significantly increase and lead to heavy traffic and a higher demand for parking space.

One of the alternatives for Mykonos is Corfu in the Ionian Sea, which will allow overnights although it has limited parking stands that are heavily competed by larger airliners. Kos and Samos allow overnights, but they also have reduced availability while Crete has two airports that can offer limited overnight parking: Chania and Heraklion. As you can read, there are alternatives to parking a private jet in Mykonos, yet the importance of planning beforehand to allow your trip support company enough lead time to secure a slot will prove paramount.

Parking Options for Private Jets in Athens

Just like the Greek Isles, Athens is a private jet magnet during the summer season, and planning ahead is key. While Athens has a much larger airport and usually allows one overnight and sometimes a few more for general aviation, depending on the parking load, it’s never enough for one of the most coveted summer destinations in the world. In terms of alternatives to Athens, Kavala and Demokritos have ample parking available, although the distance from Greece’s capital might be an issue for some crews and passengers for obvious reasons. 

Another alternative for private jet parking facilities in Athens is using nearby international destinations, like Paphos in Cyprus, which usually has ample parking, but it’s more than an hour’s flight time away. What about Turkey? Most general aviation operations have been able to drop off in the Greek Islands and then reposition to Izmir or Bodrum, which is an easy 20 min ferry flight. Izmir and Bodrum are both equally beautiful compared to the Greek Islands and are loved by the crew for an overnight stay.

Safety and Practical Tips for Alternative Parking

Timely coordination with your trip support company will allow you to secure the best possible option for the operation regarding safety, convenience, and overall efficiency. Finding the right parking alternative is a combination of distance, hopefully not too far away from the destination to avoid a long ferry flight and increased costs, and safety – assuring the aircraft owner and passengers that the aircraft is safe at the alternative parking slot is key. Furthermore, if possible, finding a nice alternative for the crew to rest and enjoy the view until it’s time to pick up the passengers at the destination would add tremendous value to the service.

The previous is only possible by working with a trip support company with a track record of experience coordinating operations in Greece, especially to alternative private jet airports in Mykonos and Athens. Peak season in Greece is extremely busy and preestablished relationships with local aviation authorities and vendors (fuel and ground handling) to service each aircraft at diverse locations is instrumental for a hassle-free experience.

While considering alternative parking options might not be the ideal case scenario, the reality is that summer hot spots worldwide will usually require searching for different options to enjoy a dream destination. In the case of Mykonos and Athens, arguably two of the most visited locations during summer in Europe, exploring these alternatives is usually the only way to enable aircraft owners and passengers to experience these unique places. 

There are many alternative options in the Greek Isles that serve as a safe alternative for more coveted summer destinations like Mykonos, Athens, and even Santorini, and working alongside a team of professionals with on-location experience as Icarus Jet will allow you to secure an alternative parking spot and overcome the challenges that the summer season brings to travel when visiting Greece. Furthermore, planning with lead time allows to secure better prices for all involved parties while guaranteeing the aircraft owner, crew, and passengers a safe and stress-free travel experience without any last-minute rush, and stress.