Planning a Greek Island vacation? If so, you may be able to skip flying through Athens on your way to your Greek island idyll.

While flying to Greece tends to focus on flights to the capital city of Athens or to the large city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece, there are also many options for direct flights to the Greek islands.

Some of these flight options to the Greek islands are seasonal, focusing on late spring, summer, and early fall. Many may be charter flights which may not show up on some online flight search services. During the winter, most flights to the Greek islands will take you through Athens, with a few exceptions.

How to Find Flights to the Greek Islands

Only a few Greek island airports have international flights all year round. The islands of Crete, Corfu, and Rhodes consistently offer a few international flights, although they may be on less-known airlines from secondary airports or less-common cities throughout Europe.

When searching online, it’s crucial to know the IATA airport codes for the Greek islands. Interestingly, many of these codes do not clearly relate to either the name of the Greek island or the name of the airport, so make sure you input the correct code.

IATA Airport Codes for the Greek Islands

• Crete: Heraklion Airport (HER) – Also known as Nikos Kazantzakis Airport; Heraklion may also be spelled Iraklion or Iraklio. Offers international flights year-round.
• Crete: Chania Airport (CHQ) – Can also be spelled Hania or, less frequently, Xania. International flights year-round.
• Corfu or Kerkyra: (CFU or LGKR) – Also known as Ioannis Kapodistrias Airport. Available international flights year-round.
• Kefalonia or Cephalonia: (KLX)
• Kefalonia or Cephalonia: (EFL)
• Kos/Cos: (KGS)
• Lemnos: (LXS)
• Mykonos Airport: (JMK)
• Mytilene/Lesvos: (MJT)
• Milos Airport: (MLO)
• Rhodes Airport: (RHO)
• Samos: (SMI)
• Santorini/Thira: (JTR)
• Skiathos: (JSI)
• Syros Island Airport: (JSY)
• Zakynthos: (ZTH)

Deals and Discounts on Greek Island Flights

One of the best regular offers comes from Olympic Air. They provide “weekendair” discounts each week, which, somewhat confusingly, become available starting the following Tuesday if you book over the weekend. Usually, there will be four or five discounted flights to or from various Greek islands, plus a couple of international destinations. These flights can often be as low as Euro 30 for a trip from, for example, Mykonos to Athens.

However, there is a peculiarity — flights from the Greek island TO Athens tend to be slightly more expensive. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that many travelers fly to one island and then continue their journey by hydrofoil or ferry, leading to a discrepancy between the number of flights heading to the island and those departing. Fortunately, prices at a given location are generally quite attractive. It’s wise to sign up for email alerts from Olympic Air to stay updated on these deals, which can be beneficial for island hopping.

Aegean Airlines also offers competitive flight prices, but at this time, Olympic Air stands out for its well-organized discount offerings. It’s advisable to set notifications from both airlines, especially for travelers with flexible plans.

There Are Sometimes Extra Airplane Seats to Greek Islands

Smaller Greek islands feature smaller airports, which may appear to be an insignificant detail when booking, yet it plays a critical role. For short runways servicing propeller-driven aircraft, the actual weight of the aircraft is a significant factor. Thus, airlines typically do not sell the last few seats until they ascertain the weight distribution on-board — including cargoes, excess luggage, and possibly mail. So, even if a flight to the Greek island of Milos was sold out when you attempted to book, or even if you checked in right after arriving in Greece, if you are at the airport just prior to departure, generally about 15-20 minutes before take-off, you might find one or two last-minute seats available. While the other passengers may cast disapproving looks, thinking you are the reason for the delay, this could be worth the minor inconvenience to reach your desired destination.