Documentation

LGSM – Samos | 29palms.de | 29palms-store.de
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2. General Information
Samos International Airport (SMI / LGSM) is located 4 km west of the town Phytagorio, named after
the locally born mathematician and philosopher Phytagoras.
Do you remember from school the Pythagorean theorem relating the lengths of the three sides of a
right triangle? Well this is where it all happened 2,500 years ago by Pythagoras!
Also an important antiquity very close to the airport, deep inside the Pythagorion hill - mentioned
further down as a hazard to the airport approaches - is the Eupalinos Tunnel (underground
aqueduct) dating also 2,500 years ago; the first known underground tunnel to have been designed
using geometry.
The story of Samos Airport began when the Greek Government decided in 1935 to modernize the
transportation infrastructure all over the country.
The initially selected area for the new airport was not used due to a misunderstanding with the local
residents for granting the land. The Samos Holy Diocese and its monasteries finally accepted a
symbolic price for 500 acres of land from the Greek Government for the construction of the airport.
In 1960 construction work started again, undertaken by the Air Force, which completed in 1962. On
June 23, 1963, almost two decades since the project began, the brand new airport was inaugurated.
The airport was first served three times a week by a Douglas DC-3 “Dakota”.
In 1968 it was decided to expand and widen the existing runway in order to serve even bigger
aircraft. The project was completed in 1971 and the airport was designated “International category
B” with the ability to serve aircraft from abroad. At that time the relationship with Turkey was quite
tense and the Greeks feared an invasion at the beaches south of the airport. That is the reason for
the sparsely vegetated and cultivated area south of the airport which still has the remains of army
posts and anti-invasion installations (not depicted in the scenery). In the area, officially, it is still
forbidden to snap photographs!
With a new terminal completed in 2003, the airport nowadays not only serves many international
and domestic flights but also hosts two Hellenic Air Force firefighting aircraft on standby during the
summer at the dedicated east apron.
Sources: www.gtp.gr, Kyprianos Biris
3. Technical Information
ICAO:
Latitude:
Longitude:
Elevation:
Magnetic Variation:
Fuel:
Runway 09/27:
Approaches:
Frequencies:
LGSM
37° 41' 20'' N
26° 54' 50'' E
19ft / 5.7m
04° E
100LL
2.044m x 45m; Asphalt
RWY09 VOR Approach
RWY27 VOR Approach
APP 124.100
TWR 129.850
ATIS 127.050