Zakynthos International Airport, often used for destinations like Santorini and Kefalonia, introduced a specific rule that can really impact air passengers if they’re unlucky
Holidaymakers have found themselves stranded on a Greek island thanks to a little-known rule.
“I had a journey from hell back from Zante about two days ago,” TikTok user NKD Zante said in a recent video. “What is meant to be about a four hour journey home ended up being over 24 hours.”
The TikToker was not swept up in a typical bit of airport chaos however, but suffered at the hands of a Zante specific rule that can see your holiday ending in a miserable way.
“Basically, my flight home was meant to be at 10pm, and at five to 10 I knew we’d be delayed as we weren’t boarding the flight. But at literally five to 10 they announced on the speaker ‘sorry everyone, flight has been delayed until tomorrow’,” NKD Zante explained.
“We were like, ‘what do you mean?’ We had to go back to arrivals, get all our luggage. They took us to the front of the airport, gave us 15 euros snack vouchers for some crisps and stuff, and then it was another three hour wait while they tried to organise the rest of us to find a place to stay, transfers.
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“They said they had no idea when our flight would be the next morning, and that they’d just text us with the new time the next day. But basically, pretty much everything at Zante Airport shuts at 10pm. So if you have booked a really late flight and it gets delayed for whatever reason, past 10pm, they will just delay you to the next day. I didn’t know this obviously, but apparently it has happened to six or seven flights in Zante Airport this summer. So yeah, lesson learned, don’t book a late flight home if you’re flying from Zante.”
Zakynthos International Airport (ZTH), often used for destinations like Santorini and Kefalonia, introduced night flight curfews in the early 1990s to protect loggerhead sea turtles. These turtles are native to the Mediterranean and nest on nearby beaches. The beaches of Zakynthos are among the most important nesting sites in the entire region, with an estimated 80% of the Mediterranean loggerhead turtle population nesting here.
Protecting their nesting grounds is critical as these turtles are classified as endangered due to threats such as habitat loss and human disturbance.
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Loggerhead sea turtles are particularly active at night. They are vulnerable to the noise and lights from planes, particularly during their nesting season. The noise and lights from aircraft can disrupt the turtles’ nesting activities, which can be harmful to the marine reptiles and their eggs.
To minimise this disturbance, the airport in Zakynthos has implemented a night curfew, which runs from sunset to 7 am, preventing flights during the hours when the turtles are most active.
Other Greek islands also have other efforts to protect the turtles, such as limited access to nesting beaches at night and reducing artificial lighting. These combined actions help ensure that both nesting females and hatchlings have the best possible chance of survival.
Travel Republic gives the following advice for those looking to visit Zakynthos this summer: “Night flights to and from Zakynthos are limited as part of a long-standing effort to protect the island’s endangered loggerhead turtles. This reflects a growing commitment across the travel industry to support responsible tourism and environmental conservation. It’s certainly something for holidaymakers to be aware of, but by adjusting flight schedules to align with local curfews, airlines and travel providers are helping safeguard the ecosystem. ”
