Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport — Spata-Artemida, Greece

Athens Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport opened in 2001 near Spata-Artemida, replacing the older Ellinikon Airport as Greece's principal gateway ahead of the 2004 Athens Olympics. Named for Eleftherios Venizelos, a towering figure in modern Greek politics who served multiple terms as prime minister in the early twentieth century, the field lies 308 feet above sea level; two runways here were engineered to handle heavy long-haul jet traffic. As the busiest airport in Greece, it serves as the primary hub for Aegean Airlines and connects Athens to destinations across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond. The terminal complex was designed with both modern passenger facilities and archaeological considerations in mind, given the historical sensitivity of construction sites near Athens. Seasonal tourist traffic swells dramatically each summer as visitors head onward to the Greek islands. Cargo operations and general aviation also share the airfield alongside scheduled passenger service, making Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport a multi-purpose facility central to Greece's economy and tourism industry.