The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) has completed the certification process of the Hellenic Aviation Service Provider (HASP) as an aerodrome operator of the State Airports of Heraklion "Nikos Kazantzakis" and Alexandroupolis "Demokritos". The Aerodrome Operator Certificate and the Airport Certificates of the two airports were delivered to HASP during a special event held at the premises of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) on 24 January 2025, in the presence of the Deputy Minister for Transport, Mr Vasilios Economou, the Governor of the HCAA, Dr. Christos Tsitouras and the Governor of HASP Mr. Georgios Saounatsos.

Heraklion and Alexandroupolis airports are the first of the ten airports managed by HASP to obtain a certificate, with the remaining eight expected to be certified by the end of February 2025. Athens International Airport (AIA) and the fourteen regional airports managed by Fraport Greece have received an Airport Certificate in December 2017. The separation of the certification and oversight responsibilities from the operation of airports under state control with the adoption of Law 4757/2020 and the assumption of responsibilities by the HCAA, as the new national aviation authority of the Hellenic Republic in January 2022, paved the way for the certification of the ten Greek airports that remain under the control of the State.

Aerodrome certification was established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the 21^st century as a result of the need to maintain the safety, regularity and efficiency of aircraft operations when they are on the ground or in the arrival/departure phase. Regulation (EU) 139/2014 contains the conditions, requirements and procedures to be followed for the issuance of Airport Certificates. Aerodromes and their operator shall be examined, in particular, for compliance with requirements and specifications for infrastructure, equipment, operational functions, organisational elements, safety management system and maintenance functions.

In preparation for the final certification, aerodrome inspectors and other competent officials of the HCAA carried out a significant number of inspections and audits, both at the aerodromes under certification and at the HCAA Headquarters, in order to assess their level of compliance with the certification requirements. After the certification of the aerodromes and their operator, a program of continuous oversight of aerodromes enters into force, with regular and non-routine inspections and audits, as is already the case at the airports managed by Fraport Greece and AIA.