Somewhere over the Atlantic, with the cabin lights dimmed and a map of Europe crawling across the seat-back screen, the question usually surfaces: where exactly does this plane put me down, and how do you get to the island from there? For a traveler leaving Chicago, the trip to Santorini comes in two parts. A seasonal nonstop flight takes you from O’Hare to Athens, and a second flight carries you on to the island.
How do you get from Chicago to Santorini?
You fly from Chicago-O’Hare to Athens International Airport, then take a second flight from Athens to Santorini Airport on the island. Aegean Airlines connects Athens and Santorini year-round.
Think of the journey as two chapters. The first is the long crossing, which ends in Athens. The two chapters meet at Athens International Airport, so that is where your planning pivots.
The Atlantic leg: Chicago-O’Hare to Athens
American Airlines and United Airlines both operate seasonal nonstop flights from Athens International Airport to Chicago-O’Hare. That gives a Chicago traveler two carriers to compare for the crossing, and it means the outbound flight to Greece lands you directly in the capital without a stop in another European city.
Both airlines fly these routes seasonally, so the schedule you see depends on the time of year you search for. If you are looking at a date in the shoulder months or in winter, confirm that the nonstop is actually being flown on the day you want before you plan anything else around it. American also serves Athens from Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York-JFK and Philadelphia, and United from Newark and Washington-Dulles, which matters if your plans change and you end up starting from another city.
The island leg: Athens to Santorini
Aegean Airlines flies year-round from Santorini Airport to Athens, so the second leg exists in every month. Aegean also flies seasonally from Santorini to Heraklion, Rhodes and Thessaloniki, which is useful to know if you later want to hop on to another Greek city instead of returning through the capital.
In Athens, follow the instructions for your onward flight to Santorini. The crossing over the Aegean is short on a map, and the reward at the end is the island itself: the curved rim of the caldera, the towns strung along its edge, and the sea far below.
Other ways to see the same route
Some travelers like to give Athens a night or two on the way, walking the old streets, eating souvlaki and gyros at a corner counter and then flying on to the island rested. Others prefer to continue straight through. Both are simply different ways of using the same two flights, and the Athens connection works either way.
Coming home, the same logic runs in reverse. Aegean carries you from Santorini to Athens, and from Athens the U.S. airlines serving Chicago-O’Hare take over for the flight back across the Atlantic.
Where do you land?
You land twice: first at Athens International Airport, the arrival point for the transatlantic flight, and then at Santorini Airport, where the Aegean flight sets you down on the island.
Athens International Airport
The official name is Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, and it sits in Spata, in Attica. It is about 12 miles east of central Athens, though the road distance is 19 miles because of the hills in between. The airport began operation on March 28, 2001.
For a Chicago traveler this is the real gateway to Greece. It is where the O’Hare nonstop touches down, where you pass from the long-haul flight to the domestic one, and where the trip changes character, from an overnight crossing to the first taste of the Mediterranean.
Santorini Airport
Santorini Airport is the island’s own airport, and the arrival that travelers picture: a short flight over the sea, then the volcanic island appearing below. Aegean Airlines connects it to Athens all year, and seasonal flights link it to other Greek and European cities.
| Airline | Flies from Santorini Airport to | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines | Athens | Year-round |
| Aegean Airlines | Heraklion, Rhodes, Thessaloniki | Seasonal |
| Aegean Airlines | Istanbul (nonstop) | Seasonal |
| British Airways | London-Heathrow | Seasonal |
| EasyJet | Bristol, London-Gatwick, Manchester | Seasonal |
| Ryanair | Dublin (nonstop), London-Stansted | Seasonal |
| Wizz Air | London-Gatwick (nonstop) | Seasonal |
| Austrian Airlines | Vienna | Seasonal |
| Air Serbia | Belgrade | Seasonal |
| Finnair | Helsinki | Seasonal |
| Eurowings | Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart | Seasonal |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Copenhagen, Oslo | Seasonal |
The list shows how many northern European cities send planes to this small island, and none of them is in the United States. For the itinerary described here, the route runs through Athens before continuing to Santorini.
What you see on arrival
Santorini is what remains of a volcano, and the island curves around a sea-filled caldera. The towns of Fira and Oia sit on the rim, the cliffs drop to the water, and the soil produces small sweet tomatoes, white eggplant and fava, the yellow split-pea purée served as a meze (a small shared plate). The local white wine, assyrtiko, is grown in vines trained low to the ground in basket shapes.
All of that begins at the airport exit. On Santorini, look for fava, tomato fritters and a glass of assyrtiko.
What do you need for the trip?
You need two flights, one from Chicago-O’Hare to Athens and one from Athens to Santorini, and you need to match them to the season, because the nonstop to Athens is seasonal while the Aegean link to the island runs through the year.
The two tickets in the plan
The first ticket is the Atlantic crossing. American Airlines and United Airlines each fly seasonal nonstops from Chicago-O’Hare to Athens, so the date you pick decides whether those flights exist. The itinerary described here has two flight legs: Chicago-O’Hare to Athens, then Athens to Santorini.
Put side by side, the two legs give the shape of the whole trip. You leave Chicago, you arrive at Athens International Airport, and from there you head to Santorini Airport. Everything else, from the hotel to the dinner table, comes after those two landings.
What to pack for a trip with two flights
Think of the island itself when you pack: stepped lanes, cliffside paths and steps down toward the water suit shoes with a good grip, and a hat and sunscreen are the natural companions for an island in the sun.
For the long flight, a small carry-on with a charger, a book and a layer for the cabin makes the crossing from O’Hare more comfortable. After landing in Athens, you carry on to Santorini with the same bag.
Using Athens as a stopover
Because everything passes through Athens International Airport, the city is a natural place to pause if you want to. It is about 12 miles from the center as the crow flies, with 19 miles of road between them. A night in Athens lets you taste moussaka, a baked dish of eggplant and meat under a creamy topping, or sit in a kafenio (a traditional coffeehouse) before flying south.
If you prefer not to stop, the Aegean flight to Santorini is the whole second chapter, and the connection is what turns a flight from Chicago into an arrival on the island.
Good to know before you go
The U.S. State Department rates Greece Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions.
Greece uses the euro, and you will find island tavernas, cafés and small shops priced in it. The trip ends where it began in the air, with Aegean carrying you from Santorini to Athens and the seasonal nonstop taking you on to Chicago-O’Hare.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Santorini Airport, airlines and destinations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/santorini-destinations#Airlines_and_destinations), checked October 12, 2026
- U.S. Department of State, Greece travel advisory (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/greece-travel-advisory.html)
- Wikipedia, Athens International Airport, airlines and destinations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/athens-destinations#Airlines_and_destinations), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Mykonos Airport, airlines and destinations (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mykonos-destinations#Airlines_and_destinations), checked October 12, 2026
- Wikipedia, Mykonos Island National Airport (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykonos_Island_National_Airport), checked October 12, 2026