When they’re up and running, airports are hubs of life and activity, with excited travelers heading out on holiday, reluctant businessman flying for work and all walks of life passing through. When they shut up shop, however, they become eerie ghost towns offering a glimpse into a forgotten history, and that’s exactly what a group of urban explorers found when they went inside an international airport that’s been abandoned for more than 20 years.
The Hellinikon Airport in Greece operated for more than 70 years, serving as an air force base in the 1930s and becoming the major transport hub for travelers looking to visit the Greek capital of Athens from the 1950s. However, the site was abandoned in 2001 as travel to Athens moved to a new airport to the east of the city.
The last plane departed from Hellinikon Airport on March 28 2001, reports CNN. Since then, it’s been left untouched and deserted with nature slowly taking back control of the airport that once handled more than 10 million passengers every year. Now, a group of urban explorers has gained access to the abandoned site, which is soon to be flattened and redeveloped.
A video shared by travel blogger Vasilis Manjuranis shows the state the airport is currently in, including across its terminal, runways and other key areas. In the film, which is available to watch below, Manjuranis and his companions wander through lounges, kitchens and duty-free stores to see what remains of the old terminal building, which was completed in the 1960s.
In airport waiting rooms, there are the kinds of uncomfortable seats that wouldn’t look out of place in departure lounges today and the bathrooms even look to be in better conditions than some you’d find at American airports. Now, however, almost every surface is covered in bird poop as the new tenants moved in, and cracks are appearing in the concrete as lichens, mold and other plant life grows.
In the control tower, which is where operators would have led planes safely down to land and organized the departures of outgoing aircraft, all the switches, screens and controls have been stripped out. But from there, there’s a stunning view of the old runway, which was actually repurposed to host canoe and kayak events in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Now, it’s festooned with cracks as grasses and other plants break through the tarmac.
Finally, the pair heads out in search of the abandoned aircraft that remain on the runway at Hellinikon Airport. While avoiding security, who are hot on their heels at this point, the pair uncovers a trio of old Olympic Airways planes, which even includes an abandoned 747 left to rot in the Greek sun.
It’s a pretty haunting sight, and makes for a lovely way to fill your lunch break if you want to see how unloved and unused buildings decay when left at the whims of nature. If this doesn’t quite scratch your itch for abandoned airports, then head here to peak inside some other dilapidated departure lounges around the world.
