Flying into or out of Mytilini Airport and want a quick idea of what it’s like? This guide is for you.
Mytilini is the name of the capital of the Greek island of Lesvos (sometimes spelt Lesbos but it’s pronounced Lesvos). The airport is called Mytilini Airport Odysseas Elytis (or sometimes spelt Mytilene or Mitilini), IATA code is MJT.
So what’s the airport like? It’s small but it has recently been rebuilt by German owner Fraport. They run many of the airports in the Greek islands so if you travel there regularly it will feel familiar.
Mytilini Airport is 6.5km south of Mytilini town. It’s small, with just 4 gates, and is right next to the sea. You could literally walk out of arrivals and be in the sea in less than 5 minutes. It’s not the nicest bit of beach though.
Arrivals
You arrive directly to passport control as soon you enter the building if you’re coming from outside the Schengen zone. As it’s a quiet airport it’s unlikely that you’ll have much of a queue beyond who else was on your plane, especially as most arrivals are from Athens, but on our flight the queue did snake outside into the sun.
There are baggage claim belts, then you’re straight through to the arrivals zone which has a couple of car rental kiosks and an ATM. If you’re meeting a package tour rep or driver this is where they’ll be waiting.
There’s a cafe and toilets in between arrivals and departures, which are all on one floor and right next to each other.
Taxis
There will be a line of taxis right outside the Arrivals Exit, and someone coordinating. I didn’t see a list of set prices but I paid €15 to get to Mytilini bus station.
If you’re travelling further than Mytilini I recommend getting in touch with a few taxi/transfer services for a quote.
Bus
If you take the Arrivals Exit and turn left, walk along to the end of the terminal building and you’ll find the bus area. Transfer buses will be waiting here too, but look for a big lime green bus sign for the city bus. There should be a timetable taped up to the post. It’s not signposted from the building at all. A ticket into Mytilini is around €1.60. I recommend having the cash but I believe Greek buses should take cash.
This bus will take you into the centre of Mytilini, the main bus station, and to the port. If you’re planning onward travel around the island by bus check out the KTEL Lesvos website and read How to Get Around Lesvos By Bus.
Departures
Mytilini has 9 check-in desks. There’s just one cafe landside, a small branch of Greek chain Grigoris. A freddo cappuccino cost €5. If you’re hungry I would advise waiting until you’re through security first as there’s (slightly) more food on the other side.
After Security
On the other side of security is a bigger cafe and a small duty-free shop. It has a selection of local goods from the island but not as big as I’ve seen at other airports around Greece.
If you’re travelling outside the Schengen Area (i.e. to the UK) you’ll need to go through passport control before you reach your boarding gate. On the other side of passport control, in the Non Schengen departure area, is a smaller cafe and duty-free shop.
For the best choice of food I would grab something in the Schengen area before going through passport control, but if you forget then don’t panic because there is food and drink on the other side, and toilets of course. If you’re trying to eat healthily or are gluten-free then you might find it a bit limited though.
I travelled in early July and experienced no queues. Getting through to the gate was very quick. The smaller numbers here make it a very pleasant experience compared to Corfu, for example.
I’m one of those people who get to the airport 3 hours early just in case, so I ended up with a lot of waiting around time here. There were just about enough seats at the gate for everyone – and I even saw staff get out a few extra foldable chairs for people. I’ve never seen that before, well done Mytilini 👏 .
Read more about Lesvos:
A Quick Guide to Skala Eressos
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