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Thessaloniki Makedonia Airport (SKG)

Last verified: October 2026 · Confirmed by travelers this month: 0

The answer
Take bus line 1X from outside arrivals — the airport fare is €2.00 on its own special-route ticket, and it reaches the city centre, the New Railway Station and KTEL Makedonia in about 40 minutes.
The airport is only 13 km out, the bus runs every 25 minutes from 05:15 to 22:40 with the 1N covering the night, and at €2.00 it is a fifth of the taxi fare.
Landing late? The 1N night bus runs 22:00–05:55 at the same €2.00.
Staying in Kalamaria or the east? The new 3X connects the airport to Mikra metro station year-round, also €2.00, since 27 August 2026.

🚌 Every way out — real prices

Airport bus 1X (day) and 1N (night) BEST FOR MOST
€2.00
The 1X leaves outside arrivals and calls at the city centre, the New Railway Station and KTEL Makedonia, the main intercity coach terminal — about 40 minutes in the day and about 50 at night. It runs roughly 05:15 to 22:40 every 25 minutes, with the 1N night service covering 22:00 to 05:55. The fare is €2.00 on a special-route ticket, or €1.00 reduced. Tickets come from the kiosk or the OSETH machines in the terminal; there is no sale on board.
Bus 3X to Mikra metro station (new)
€2.60
Opened on 27 August 2026 alongside the Kalamaria metro extension, the 3X runs year-round between the airport and the Mikra metro interchange station at the €2.00 special-route fare, where you change onto the metro for the centre at €0.60. Mikra is the eastern terminus of the new Kalamaria branch and is the fastest route in if you are staying south-east or arriving from that side of the city.
Taxi from the official rank
€28 day / €38 night
Thessaloniki taxis are dark blue with a white roof and wait at the rank outside arrivals. The fixed all-inclusive fare to the city ring is €28 by day (05:00–24:00) and €38 overnight (00:00–05:00) under the Ministry's September 2026 revision, up from €25 and €35; luggage and tolls are included. Card payment is mandatory in Greek taxis. The ride takes 25–30 minutes.
Bus 2X to Nea Elvetia metro
€2.60
The 2X connects the airport to the metro transfer station at Nea Elvetia on the main line, at the same €2.00 airport fare, plus €0.60 for the metro into town. Useful if your destination is on the metro spine rather than near the centre stops the 1X serves.
Bus 79 to the IKEA transfer station
€2.00
Line 79 links the airport with the Eastern Bus Transfer Station at IKEA, where the trunk bus routes into the city and out to Halkidiki connect. Same €2.00 special-route airport ticket. The airport's own transport page lists it alongside the 1X/1N, 2X and 3X.
30, 90 and 180-day passes
€16 / €45 / €85
The long-period passes do include the airport lines, unlike the day pass and the 10+1 packs: €16.00 for 30 days, €45.00 for 90 days and €85.00 for 180 days. Worth checking if you are in the city for a month or more, but no use for a normal trip.
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⚠️ The traps (walk past these)

The airport bus needs its own €2.00 ticket — the €0.60 one is invalid

Lines 1X, 1N, 2X, 3X and 79 are classed as special routes, and the ordinary products do not cover them: the €0.60 urban ticket, the €0.80 suburban ticket, the €2.50 24-hour pass and the €5.80 10+1 pack are all excluded. A €2.00 ticket for one bus ride looks wrong next to a €0.60 city fare, and buying the cheap one is a fine, not a fare.

Do this: ask for the special bus routes ticket, the one for the airport and the cultural line, at the kiosk or machine in the terminal
The airport taxi fare rose to €28 and €38 in September 2026

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport raised the fixed Thessaloniki airport fare from €25 to €28 by day and from €35 to €38 overnight. Rank signs, hotel printouts and nearly every guide still say €25/€35, so the correct new fare can look like a tout's markup.

Do this: expect €28 daytime and €38 after midnight to the city ring, with luggage and tolls already included
There is no ticket sale on board the airport buses

You buy at the ticket booth or the OSETH vending machines in the terminal, and boarding without a valid ticket is a fine, not a fare to be settled with the driver. Reduced fares load only onto a personalised ThessCard, which a visitor will not have, so the reduced €1.00 does not apply to you.

Do this: buy the €2.00 special-route ticket before you leave the terminal building
The metro still does not reach the airport

Thessaloniki's metro opened in November 2024 and the Kalamaria extension added five stations on 27 August 2026, taking the network to 18 stations — but none of them is at the airport. Reaching the metro means a bus first (3X to Mikra or 2X to Nea Elvetia) and two separate tickets, because metro and bus are ticketed independently: about €2.60 in total.

Do this: budget for the bus plus the metro ticket, and do not follow anyone promising a metro link at the terminal

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