Eleftherios Venizelos Airport

From Freepedia

The Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, (IATA: ATH, ICAO: LGAV) which began operation in March 2001, serves the city of Athens in Greece. It is located between the towns of Markopoulo, Koropi, Spata and Loutsa, about 20 km east of Athens city centre (30 km by road, due to intervening hills).

It is named after Eleftherios Venizelos, the Cretan Prime Minister, who was prominent in the Cretan rising against the Ottoman occupation of Crete in 1896. It has the IATA airport code ATH (which it overtook from Ellinikon International Airport which it replaced) and the ICAO airport code LGAV.

The runways are approximately 4 kilometres in length. The Airport was developed by public-private partnership. Greece holds 55% of the shares. It is considered one of the most expensive airports in Europe since its cantinas and cafes have to pay a very high rent.

A rail station immediately adjacent to the airport terminal (and accessible by an elevated walkway) was completed in time for the 2004 Olympics. The station is served by line 3 of the Athens Metro and by the Proastiakos suburban train service.

Robotic security

The new airport is equipped with two robotic systems (robots "Hercules" and "Ulysses") capable of handling suspect devices, designed to protect the lives of individuals as well as airport spaces, by safely identifying and removing explosives.

Hercules was donated by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to the airport. It is a system worth approximately €170,000, manufactured by Soukos Robots ABEE. Hercules is capable of the safe collection and transportation of explosives for disposal. It is equipped with a spherical shaped tank with a diameter of 120 cm, and two robotic folding arms.

Ulysses is a system worth €94,000, donated by Soukos Robots ABEE. This system was manufactured in order to serve as a supplement to Hercules, allowing entrance in difficult access areas such as toilets, buses or aircraft. It is a light but highly efficient robot, equipped with a shock-absorbing system allowing movements on rough surfaces.

Airlines

External links

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