It is located about 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the main city centre of Heraklion, near the municipality of Nea Alikarnassos.

Nikos Kazantzakis Airport is Crete's main and busiest airport, serving Heraklion (Ηράκλειο), Aghios Nikolaos (Άγιος Νικόλαος), Malia (Mάλλια), Hersonissos (Χερσόνησος), Stalida (Σταλίδα), Sisi (Σίσι) Elounda (Ελούντα) and other resorts.

A new airport for Heraklion, located 39 km (24 mi) to the south-east of the city at Kasteli, is under construction and due to open by 2027.

[4] At first, the airport only offered very basic service, with only primitive installations on the site in the form of three tents, smoke for wind determination, and storm lamps for runway lighting.

[6][7][8][9] The latest extension began in October 2017 and was completed on 30 March 2018, in time for the airport's high season.