Chios Airport to Close to Scheduled Flights from Nov. 16, 2026 to Mar. 15, 2027 for Runway Expansion

Chios Airport (Chios Omiros State Airport, also known as Homer Airport) in Greece will close to scheduled commercial flights for about four months, from the evening of November 15, 2026, until March 15, 2027, while the runway and aircraft maneuvering areas are expanded and upgraded. November 15 is the last day of scheduled operations, with the suspension taking full effect on November 16. The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) confirmed the closure in an announcement on October 15 and issued a NOTAM covering the runway shutdown.

Once complete, the project will extend the runway northward to 1,799 meters, allowing larger aircraft. The HCAA cited construction safety requirements, the limited runway length and the need to organize the remaining work efficiently over the winter. The second and third project phases are combined into a four-month period instead of the previously planned five. The contractor has committed to trying to speed up the work, with February 28, 2027, as an earlier target, but March 15 remains the official end date and an earlier reopening has not been confirmed.

Helicopters will still be allowed to land and take off from the airport apron for medical evacuations, search-and-rescue, firefighting, humanitarian and government-related flights; this does not replace commercial passenger service. SKY express has published a notice confirming the closure from November 16, 2026, to March 15, 2027, and passengers with bookings are advised to contact the airline.

The closure has drawn opposition from residents, local officials and businesses concerned about accessibility, the economy and access to medical care. The Chios municipal council held an emergency meeting on November 2.

Greece's Maritime Ministry plans three additional weekly ferry services from December 1, which would raise mainland ferry connections to Chios from six to nine sailings per week. The six existing weekly Piraeus-Chios-Lesvos sailings would continue, while the three extra high-speed services would operate from Lavrio or Rafina near Athens, also serving Lesvos, until March 28, 2027.

The Coastal Transport Council approved the proposal unanimously on November 6, but implementation still depends on funding and a tendering process, so the extra departures are not confirmed.

Runway works at a single-airport island leave no air alternative for scheduled traffic, so the whole passenger load transfers to sea routes for the duration. Ferry schedules, not the airport timetable, then set how many people can reach the island each week, and the planned rise from six to nine weekly sailings is the measure of how much of that load authorities expect to move.

Winter scheduling is a deliberate choice in this kind of project: contractors take the quietest traffic months to compress the closure, which is why the second and third phases have been folded into four months. The trade-off is that the period also leaves the island with the thinnest ferry timetable, which is what the proposed extra services are meant to offset.

Two dated items decide how the closure plays out. The first is whether funding and the tender for the three additional ferry services clear in time for the December 1 start. The second is whether the contractor's February 28, 2027 target is formally adopted; until the HCAA changes the March 15 end date, planning for the full four months is the only position the announcement supports.