For six decades, the airport served as the Greek capital’s main hub for commercial airliners. It was the Greek home of the ‘golden age’ of air travel, handling around 12 million passengers per year. Now it is in the process of being demolished to make space for luxury apartments, hotels and a marina. I visited the site a couple times between 2009 and 2011, but accidentally stumbled upon the pictures recently during a clear out and decided to put together this report.
The airport was built in 1938 shortly before the invasion of Greece in 1941, when the airport was taken over by Luftwaffe. With the end of the WW2 the airport returned to the Greek government and a second terminal was built in 1969 by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen. The West terminal was used for the flagship carrier Olympic Airways and the East terminal was for all other carriers.
It was located in the southern coast of Athens and had an official capacity of 11 million passengers per year, although normally serving over 13 million passengers in the years before its closure.
View from departure lounge, West terminal - circa 1980
The airport was replaced by the new Athens International Airport in March 2001 as the demand had outgrown the airport's capacity and due to the densely populated surroundings there was no option for expansion. Part of the airport was subsequently demolished in 2002 to allow for the infrastructure required for the Summer Olympics in 2004.
Areal view of the airport in 2010 with the stadia used for the Olympics visible
The explore
Getting into the grounds was never an issue as there was always a hole in the fencing or a gate left open. The main problem was moving around once inside. The security was strategically located in the old control tower which allows for great visibility over the whole field and admittedly there were not many places to hide once you're on the tarmac. Fortunately we never had the chance to get acquainted with any of the security guards; only their dogs which were the most playful German shepherds you can possibly imagine and certainly did not hinder our access.
The first stop was the abandoned airplanes (top left corner in the areal picture above for reference). 6 of them in total standing there still as time goes by. Surprisingly not a single spot of graffiti on any of them although the majority of the instruments and equipment onboard was already taken.
The two commercial jets, once owned and operated by Olympic Airways.
Only managed to find a way into the Boeing 747, once used to transport Hollywood stars and even Jackie Kennedy when she visited Athens.
The economy class split into zones.
All the instrumentation was missing from the cockpit with only the engine levers still in situ.
The East terminal. Unfortunately the ceiling had collapsed in the vast majority of the building, so we didn't risk it going inside.
Instead we followed the perimeter around, trying to stay out of sight from the control tower. The west side of the airport (bottom right of the aerial shot) used to house the offices of the former Greek flag carrier - Olympic Airways. Most offices are now empty, but one building had a hidden gem for us. It was the training centre for the pilots and a vintage Frasca 210 flight simulator was still inside.
Once the cutting edge in flight simulation and pilot training, now collecting dust, forgotten.
Our final stop was the West terminal. After walking around the building a couple times, we spotted a way in through a vent.
The terminal is quiet. It feels weird being here alone, in a place once filled with noise and people. Everything around us is covered in a fine layer of dust, but everything appears to be left untouched.
Following the signs past the ticket sales, heading to the check in desks and the coffee shop in the back.
Walking around the gates, we spot one that is heading to London.
At the end of the gates is the business class lounge. No free WiFi unfortunately, but there was a computer for passengers to use with the instructions card.
One level up and more empty corridors and rooms around us. One door is propped open with a fire extinguisher with lots of light coming through. Behind it, it is the flight crew lounge where they received their briefings and were waiting for their flights. Lots of pictures stuck on the walls around us of cabin crews and pilots around the world in their uniforms.
In the corner we spot this box. Memorial to one of the Olympic Airways chief pilots.
In the same room there is this cabinet. Filled with collective items from Olympic Airways and other airlines. Flight crews used to exchange item with other airline crews when they traveled and bring them back to their home base as a souvenir.
Writing this report took me back in time. It was incredible to see a place where people have shown their respect over the years and truly left no marks behind.
The airport was built in 1938 shortly before the invasion of Greece in 1941, when the airport was taken over by Luftwaffe. With the end of the WW2 the airport returned to the Greek government and a second terminal was built in 1969 by the Finnish architect Eero Saarinen. The West terminal was used for the flagship carrier Olympic Airways and the East terminal was for all other carriers.
It was located in the southern coast of Athens and had an official capacity of 11 million passengers per year, although normally serving over 13 million passengers in the years before its closure.
View from departure lounge, West terminal - circa 1980
The airport was replaced by the new Athens International Airport in March 2001 as the demand had outgrown the airport's capacity and due to the densely populated surroundings there was no option for expansion. Part of the airport was subsequently demolished in 2002 to allow for the infrastructure required for the Summer Olympics in 2004.
Areal view of the airport in 2010 with the stadia used for the Olympics visible
The explore
Getting into the grounds was never an issue as there was always a hole in the fencing or a gate left open. The main problem was moving around once inside. The security was strategically located in the old control tower which allows for great visibility over the whole field and admittedly there were not many places to hide once you're on the tarmac. Fortunately we never had the chance to get acquainted with any of the security guards; only their dogs which were the most playful German shepherds you can possibly imagine and certainly did not hinder our access.
The first stop was the abandoned airplanes (top left corner in the areal picture above for reference). 6 of them in total standing there still as time goes by. Surprisingly not a single spot of graffiti on any of them although the majority of the instruments and equipment onboard was already taken.
The two commercial jets, once owned and operated by Olympic Airways.
Only managed to find a way into the Boeing 747, once used to transport Hollywood stars and even Jackie Kennedy when she visited Athens.
The economy class split into zones.
All the instrumentation was missing from the cockpit with only the engine levers still in situ.
The East terminal. Unfortunately the ceiling had collapsed in the vast majority of the building, so we didn't risk it going inside.
Instead we followed the perimeter around, trying to stay out of sight from the control tower. The west side of the airport (bottom right of the aerial shot) used to house the offices of the former Greek flag carrier - Olympic Airways. Most offices are now empty, but one building had a hidden gem for us. It was the training centre for the pilots and a vintage Frasca 210 flight simulator was still inside.
Once the cutting edge in flight simulation and pilot training, now collecting dust, forgotten.
Our final stop was the West terminal. After walking around the building a couple times, we spotted a way in through a vent.
The terminal is quiet. It feels weird being here alone, in a place once filled with noise and people. Everything around us is covered in a fine layer of dust, but everything appears to be left untouched.
Following the signs past the ticket sales, heading to the check in desks and the coffee shop in the back.
Walking around the gates, we spot one that is heading to London.
At the end of the gates is the business class lounge. No free WiFi unfortunately, but there was a computer for passengers to use with the instructions card.
One level up and more empty corridors and rooms around us. One door is propped open with a fire extinguisher with lots of light coming through. Behind it, it is the flight crew lounge where they received their briefings and were waiting for their flights. Lots of pictures stuck on the walls around us of cabin crews and pilots around the world in their uniforms.
In the corner we spot this box. Memorial to one of the Olympic Airways chief pilots.
In the same room there is this cabinet. Filled with collective items from Olympic Airways and other airlines. Flight crews used to exchange item with other airline crews when they traveled and bring them back to their home base as a souvenir.
Writing this report took me back in time. It was incredible to see a place where people have shown their respect over the years and truly left no marks behind.
