Samos Intl. (Aristarchos) Airport - Spotting Guide

Samos Intl. (Aristarchos) Airport – Spotting Guide

June 1, 2019 - last modified on November 29, 2023

Samos International (Aristarchos) Airport (SMI/LGSM) was named after Aristarchos of Samos, who was an ancient astronomer and mathematician. The airport is located 5km west of Pythagorio, the nearest bigger town. On the one side, Samos airport is surrounded by high mountains and on the other side you have the sea right next to the runway’s end – this geographic situation makes Samos quite difficult to arrive to/depart from and also offers an awesome backdrop.

The airfield was opened back in 1976 and – especially the terminal – was renovated over the turn of millenium to be able to handle more passengers, although the number isn’t really growing. The airport is mainly served by holiday airlines, but also offers some regular flights all year, which are mainly served by domestic carriers. For example Olympic Air and Sky Express are all-year visitors with their destinations Athens, Thessaloniki, Rhodes and Chios. All in all the airport serves a total of 462.750 passengers per year, but this number isn’t very static as it varies a lot from century to century. That’s why Samos airport even broke the 500.000 mark already back in 1999.

Written by Maximilian Kramer. Last Update: June 2018

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
09/27	2.100m Asphalt
Terminals	One for all operations. No jetways, aircraft are only reachable by foot – terminal offers 5 gates.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Not really needed, but is highly recommended at spot #2.
Car/Public Transport	Recommended, if you don’t want to walk for long time in the hot sun. Public transport is very poor here.
Restrooms	Not available around the mentioned spots, maybe in some nearby hotels/restaurants.
Drinks/Food	Can be grabed in one of the many snack shops or beach bars along the beach – difficult to get this near spot #3.
Hotels	Some around the airport, but a lot of them on this island as well.
Season	Definetely summer! The flightplan in the winter is very lame in comparison to the summer plan, although even this isn’t too exciting.
Runway Usage
09/27	Runway 09 is more likely used, especially in summer when the strong winds out of northern direction are blowing again. Apart from this, most of the time the wind is blowing onto the airfield from the sea, that’s why you will see runway 27 operations very rarely only.

	Spot #1 – Runway head
WHERE	This spot is located right at the head of the runway’s eastern end along the fence. This spot can easily be reached by car as there is a parking area just next to the spot. Once you parked your car just go back to the fence and search your favourite position there – depending on the angle and situation you want to spot. Apart from this it may also be useful to mention that the grass is quite high in summer and can be the reason for heat haze, so this may influence the exact photoposition as well.

WHAT	After arrivals onto runway 09 and prior departures from runway 27- IF they are using/turning on the last pad. Otherwise heat haze is quite disturbing, especially in the well visited summer season.

TIME	From sunrise till late midday.

MISC.	No ladder really needed as the fence is quite low and the surrounding area quite high as it offers some objects to climb on (see overview shots) – you can easily spot over it normally. Heat haze can be a problem very fast.

FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm

You can easily climb these white objects to be able to look over the fence:

View is like this then from the top of these objects:

	Spot #2 – Fenceside
WHERE	This location can be found at the eastern end of the village of “Potokaki”, which mainly consists of hotels/’r b&bs and restaurants or bars. Just get rid of your vehicle somewhere at the roadside, where you can also find some parking places, and then search your favourite position along the fence facing the turning pad from the evening side. You can vary your exact position depending on the stored and abandoned vehicles which may be parked there and can be used for get over the fence.

WHAT	After arrivals onto runway 09 and prior departures from runway 27- IF they are using/turning on the last pad. Otherwise heat haze is quite disturbing, especially in the well visited summer season.

TIME	From early afternoon till sunset.

MISC.	Ladder recommended or at least very helpful to get over the fence. You could also climb onto some of the abandoned objects there, but who knows, if they are still there. Sometimes you can run into old farm vehicles you can use for spotting. Otherwise the grass may block your view from the ground; especially the gears are cut off then. Heat haze can be a problem very fast.

FOCAL LENGTH	50-200mm

	Spot #3 – Hillroad
WHERE	The last spot is no exact position rather the area around the marked roadpart. Just search your favourite spot there – most likely where it’s easy and safe to stop with your car. The view is everywhere nearly the same and offers a great view of the airport and tunrning aircraft in the air. When coming from the airport, drive into western direction and head to the city of “Myli”. Make your way up the hill and once passing the city, follow the signs, if still existing, to “Moni Megalis Panagias” monastery, which is located a bit more up the hill northwest of “Myli”.

WHAT	Arrivals onto runway 09 when turning in. You may also take nice 27 departure shots, when the aircraft aren’t too high.

TIME	In the evening hours.

MISC.	Heat haze can be a problem very fast. Nothing really around, parking limited possible.

FOCAL LENGTH	200-500mm Aircraft + airport = 230mm / Only aircraft = ~400mm