Flights There are various options available in terms of international flights, depending on the time of year in which travel is planned. 'Flight only' seats are sometimes limited, and early booking is recommended.
If you are experiencing difficulties in sourcing a suitable flight, may I suggest you contact Cannon Travel for an efficient and competitive service for flights to Crete. Tel: (01992) 471144 Email: flights@cannontravel.co.uk Web: www.cannontravel.co.uk
Agencies The following companies offer a Charter Flight only booking service:
Avro plc (0870) 458 2851 www.avro.co.uk
CharterFlightCentre (0845) 0450153 www.charterflight.co.uk
Flights by Phone (0870) 990 8377 www.holidaysbyphone.co.uk
SCHEDULED FLIGHTS (MARCH AND APRIL) (NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY)
UK to Herakleon (HER)
GB Airways (BA) (0870) 850 9850 www.ba.com
easyJet (EZY) (0870) 600 000 www.easyjet.com
UK to Hania (CHQ)
There are currently no direct flights from the UK to Hania during the above periods. Guests should travel on a scheduled service to Athens, with an interconnecting flight to Hania. Flight time between London and Athens is approx. 3½ hours, with the internal flight from Athens to Hania taking about 35 minutes.
The main carriers to Athens are:
British Airways (BA) (0870) 850 9850 www.ba.com
easyJet (EZY) (0870) 600 000 www.easyjet.com
Hellas Jet (HEJ) (0870) 751 7000 www.hellas-jet.com
Monarch Airlines (MON) (0870) 908 4299 www.flyMonarch.com
Olympic Airlines (OY) (0870) 606 0460 www.olympicairlines.com
Virgin Express (0207) 744 0004 www.virgin-express.com
The two carriers between Athens and Crete are:
Aegean Airlines (A3) (00302) 8210 51 100 www.aegean-airlines.gr
Olympic Airlines (OY) (0870) 606 0460 www.olympicairlines.com Olympic Airlines offer an interconnecting service between London Heathrow and Gatwick, and Hania and Herakleon, with automatic baggage transfer to the internal interconnecting flight.
CHARTER FLIGHTS (MAY TO OCTOBER)
UK to Hania (CHQ) ( Due to Greek Air Traffic Control restrictions, direct flights to (Hania currently leave from, and return to, the UK on Tuesdays).
1st Choice Airways (formerly Air 2000) (FCA) (0870) 850 3999 www.firstchoice.co.uk
Excelairways (XLA) (0870) 320 7777 www.excelairways.com
GBAirlines (BA) (Herakleon only) www.ba.com
Monarch Airlines (Cosmos Holidays) (MON) (0871) 225 3555 www.flyMonarch.com
Thomas Cook Airlines (TCX) (0870) 750 0316 www.thomascook.com
(Note: Both JMC and MyTravel Group have recently merged as part of Thomas Cook Group PLC. All flights previously available on JMC and MyTravel are now booked through thomascook.com)
Thomsonfly (0800) 107 1517 www.thompsonsflights.com
AIRPORT INFORMATION
UK Airport information The following UK Airports provide direct flights to Hania:
Gatwick (LGW) Manchester (MAN)
The drive time from Hania to The Mill is approx. 40mins.
The following UK Airports provide direct flights to Herakleon:
Belfast (BFS) Birmingham (BHX) Bristol (BRS) Cardiff (CWL) East Midlands (EMA) Gatwick (LGW) Leeds Bradford (LBA) Manchester (MAN) Newcastle (NCL).
The drive time from Herakleon to The Mill is approx. 2 1/2 hours
Greek Airport information Athens Airport (Eleftherios Venizelos) The new Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport in Spata opened on Wednesday 29 March 2001. All flights now use the new airport, which makes your connecting flight to Crete far easier than in the pre 2001 East and West terminal days. For information on Eleftherios Venizelos Airport visit www.aia.gr.
Airports in Crete There are currently two international airports in Crete, both located on the northern coastline, at Herakleon (Kazantzakis) (HER) in the centre of the island and at Hania (Daskalogiannis) (CHQ) on the North West coast. You will see from the information below that there are significantly more charter flights to Heraklion than those to Hania.