Greece has opened its first private general aviation airport, with the official inauguration of the new Lydia Airport in Amygdaleonas, Kavala, marking a new chapter for aviation, pilot training and technology in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and across the country.
The airport now serves as the new home of Egnatia Aviation, one of Greece’s leading pilot-training schools, while also hosting a new satellite office of the National Centre for Research and Technology Development (CERTH). The facility brings together aviation training, research and innovation in one location.
The inauguration also marked 20 years since Egnatia Aviation began operating in Kavala. Entrepreneurs Dimitris Lymperakis and Giorgos Zografakis founded the company after setting out to establish a pilot-training standard in Greece comparable with that of the United Kingdom.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Macedonia and Thrace Kostas Gioulekas said the investment had significance beyond Northern Greece, stressing that it concerned the whole country.
He said the project represented the story of two people who turned their vision into an investment with international reach. He also stressed that the state should support entrepreneurs who have the ambition to invest and use their capabilities to benefit society and the economy.
Transport Secretary-General Stelios Sakaretsios highlighted Egnatia Aviation’s development and the international students who have trained in Kavala.
He said the school had helped Greece secure a distinct position on the international aviation-training map, while also highlighting the wider development potential of the investment.
From a dirt runway to a modern private airport
The history of Amygdaleonas Airport dates back to 1938, when authorities created the first dirt runway to serve the Hellenic Air Force.
British squadrons used the airfield for operational missions during 1940 and 1941. In 1947, authorities built the airport with funding from the Marshall Plan and based an aviation unit there.
Civilian air connections with Athens and Thessaloniki began two years later. A major runway reconstruction followed in 1963, while Olympic Airways operated its final flight from Amygdaleonas in 1981.
The site later supported firefighting aircraft and general aviation activities before falling into disuse.
It returned to active service in early 2023 after extensive reconstruction and renovation work, when the first Egnatia Aviation aircraft landed there.
The approximately €14 million investment transformed the site into Greece’s first private general aviation airport and a dedicated pilot-training hub.
Today, Lydia Airport has a 1,330-metre-long and 28-metre-wide runway, a new taxiway system and 28 aircraft parking positions. It operates 14 hours a day for 360 days a year and sits just five kilometres northwest of Kavala.
Egnatia Aviation marks 20 years
For Lymperakis and Zografakis, the airport represents the culmination of two decades of development.
“Twenty years ago, we could not have imagined how far the effort we started in Great Britain would develop,” Lymperakis said.
The company initially operated from Kavala’s Megas Alexandros Airport, gradually attracting students from overseas. At the time, international students seeking pilot training mainly travelled to the United States or the United Kingdom.
A major milestone came in 2012, when Egnatia Aviation signed its first contract with Qatar Airways. Further partnerships with Greek and international airlines followed, helping place Kavala on the international aviation-training map.
Zografakis said more than 2,500 pilots had trained at the school over the past 20 years. Students from 20 different specialisations currently train in Kavala, where they also live and experience the local area.
The company now plans to expand into aircraft-engineer training.
Lymperakis also highlighted the potential for aviation tourism. He said Egnatia Aviation had evolved into a general aviation company with a broad range of activities and wanted Lydia Airport to become a gateway to Greece for small aircraft.
He called for support from public authorities and other stakeholders to develop the airport and the business activity that could grow around it.
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Regional Governor Christodoulos Topsidis described the investment as an example of the region’s potential. He said the airport had given Kavala and the wider region a new position on the European aviation map.
CERTH brings research into the aviation sector
The new CERTH satellite office adds another dimension to Lydia Airport’s development.
It represents the research organisation’s first aviation-focused branch in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Deputy Minister of Development Stavros Kalafatis described its establishment as a practical example of how research can connect with regional development, new technologies and the real economy.
He said the branch would strengthen CERTH’s international reach, create opportunities for international partnerships and innovative applications, and open new opportunities for scientists and businesses.
CERTH President Dr Evangelos Bekiaris described the office as a new channel for cooperation and innovation in the region and a living laboratory operating in a real aviation environment.
The facility will focus particularly on technological solutions for drones and modern aviation services.
Dr Vasilis Kappatos, director of CERTH’s Institute for Sustainable Mobility and Transport Networks, said the facility would enable research and testing involving aircraft and drones.
He said the opportunities for research and the development of new technologies were significant and that the branch could become a reference point for innovative solutions in aviation.
Lydia Airport will now operate not only as an airport and pilot-training centre but also as a hub where education, research, technology and entrepreneurship can develop together.
The official opening coincides with the 20th anniversary of Greece’s first pilot-training school, giving the project a dual milestone as it enters a new phase.
For Kavala and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the next challenge will be to capitalise on the opportunities created around the historic aviation site. Eighty-eight years after the first runway was built, Amygdaleonas is seeking to regain a prominent role in Greek, European and international aviation.
