Heraklion council backs claim to 32.4% of Nikos Kazantzakis airport land
The Municipality of Heraklion’s council approved a proposal from Mayor Alexis Kalokairinos on Monday, October 19, setting out the municipality’s ownership claims and development priorities for the land occupied by Heraklion’s “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport once the facility closes following the opening of the new airport at Kasteli.
Kalokairinos told the council that legal and technical research commissioned by the municipality confirms its real property rights over part of the airport site. According to the findings he presented, the municipality holds an 11/30 co-ownership share in two plots totaling 362,992.98 square metres, plus exclusive ownership of three further plots covering 199,688.34 square metres. Combined, these holdings amount to 562,681.31 square metres, or 32.40% of the airport’s total area of 1,736,852.61 square metres.
The claim traces back to a final land distribution of the Alikarnassos farmland on December 17, 1932, when the then-Community of Nea Alikarnassou became the exclusive owner of a number of plots. Greece’s Supreme Court (Areios Pagos), in a 1988 ruling, irrevocably confirmed the community’s 11/30 co-ownership of plots 307 and 317, and its exclusive ownership of plots 4, 6 and 7, measuring 386,576, 42,479 and 43,168 square metres respectively. The Municipality of Heraklion, as legal successor to the Nea Alikarnassou community, says it inherited these ownership rights.
Forced expropriations for the construction of the airport were declared in government gazettes between 1935 and 1994, covering parts of the same plots. The municipality maintains that, under the 1988 Supreme Court ruling, ownership of the affected land remained with it regardless of whether those expropriation procedures were ever completed.
According to the municipality, it had not previously taken steps to reclaim possession of the land because the airport served the public interest and officials did not want to disrupt its operation. With the new Kasteli airport nearing completion and the current airport due to close, the municipality said it now has an obligation to formally assert its ownership rights.
Kalokairinos said that finalizing the ownership picture and calling on the government to recognize it marks the right moment to set out a roadmap for the next steps. He added that due recognition would be given, at an appropriate time, to the former community leaders of Nea Alikarnassou who secured the original land rights.
Principles proposed for redevelopment
Presenting the municipality’s position on how the site should be developed after the airport closes, Kalokairinos said any plan must be coordinated with Heraklion’s Local Urban Plan and with wider spatial planning frameworks, including the Regional Spatial Plan for Crete. He outlined five guiding principles for the area, one of the most closely watched places in Crete as the region prepares for the shift to Kasteli: institutional coherence with existing planning; environmental sustainability centered on a large metropolitan green park; social benefits such as affordable housing and upgrades for Nea Alikarnassou; a balance between public and private interests, with high-value development zones expected to help fund public facilities; and a participatory process involving consultation with local residents.
Proposed uses for the site
The municipality’s stated priorities for the land include housing, with an emphasis on social and affordable housing; extensive green and public open spaces; offices and facilities serving the wider metropolitan area; innovation, education and cultural activities; and small-scale tourism and commercial uses compatible with the surrounding area.
Officials described continuous, unobstructed public access along the entire coastal front of the site, from its eastern to western edge, as a non-negotiable condition, echoing broader efforts to keep beaches in Crete freely accessible to the public, with the necessary links to the surrounding urban area to be built in.
Also attending the council session were Heraklion Municipality planning officials Giorgos Polychronakis and Katerina Fostieri, along with municipal lawyer Maria Katika.
