Deputy Minister of Culture, responsible for Contemporary Culture, Iason Fotilas inaugurated the new art and culture space.
In the presence of the Deputy Minister of Culture, responsible for Contemporary Culture, Mr Iason Fotilas, the official inauguration of MOMUS Air, the new contemporary art and culture space located at Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”, took place on Thursday, January 22, 2026. The initiative is part of Fraport Greece’s strategic partnership with the Metropolitan Organisation of Museums of Visual Arts of Thessaloniki-MOMUS, a body supervised by the Ministry of Culture.
The inauguration was attended by representatives from the Region of Central Macedonia and the Municipality of Thessaloniki, as well as from the city’s business and cultural sector, emphasising the significance of the initiative for Thessaloniki and reinforcing the airport’s role as a cultural hub.
MOMUS Air, which is already in operation and freely accessible to travellers, is a contemporary 163 sq. m. space within the airport where art, technology, and travel experience coexist. Through visual works—both originals and reproductions—digital applications, and documentaries, visitors encounter selected material from the collections of the five MOMUS museums, creating an unexpected yet meaningful engagement with contemporary culture.
The first exhibition hosted explores the concept of flight, which for centuries has served as a symbol of the desire to escape, social rupture, spiritual uplift, and utopianism. The exhibition features reproductions of works by avant-garde artists from Russia and Eastern Europe in the early 20th century, such as Alexei Morgunov, Liubov Popova, and Vladimir Tatlin, alongside constructions, short documentaries, and works by contemporary artists and photographers, including Yannis Moralis, Achilleas Aperghis, Stephen Antonakos, Socrates Iordanidis, Alexis Akrithakis, and Lena Athanasopoulou. In this context, flight is not presented merely as an upward movement, but also as a metaphorical negotiation of forces that resist, shape, or momentarily support our desire to rise.
The next exhibition at MOMUS Air will be related to the 9th Thessaloniki Biennale of Contemporary Art, scheduled to take place next May.
This initiative forms part of Fraport Greece’s broader strategy to continuously enhance the travellers’ experience and strengthen the connection between airports and local communities, while showcasing the identity and cultural richness of each destination.
The Deputy Minister of Culture, responsible for Contemporary Culture, Mr Iason Fotilas, noted: "MOMUS Air is a contemporary and dynamic proposal for how culture can be integrated into public spaces and accompany the travel experience. The collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, through MOMUS, and Fraport Greece proves that when public and private entities share a common vision, projects with a significant cultural and social impact can be created. It fully embraces and justifies the policy of extroversion and dissemination of culture pursued by the ministry and our Minister, Lina Mendoni. Thessaloniki is gaining a new cultural hub, where contemporary art meets the world, at the very moment of transition and travel.
Fraport Greece CEO, Mr Alexander Zinell, stated: “MOMUS Air expresses, in the most meaningful way, our philosophy that airports should be places of experience and connection with the destinations they serve. In Thessaloniki, a city with a strong cultural identity, we aimed for the airport to become an integral part of this narrative. We warmly thank the Ministry of Culture and MOMUS for the cooperation and shared vision that have become a reality today.”
The Chairman of the Management Board of MOMUS, Mr Epaminondas Christophilopoulos, mentioned: “The creation of MOMUS Air within Thessaloniki Airport ‘Makedonia’ may, at first glance, seem almost self-evident: culture in a space of constant movement, waiting, and transition. However, developing a museum exhibition space within an airport is a technically, institutionally, and operationally complex undertaking, and not simply a matter of spatial choice. It is an exercise in balance between different worlds, each with its own priorities, rules, and responsibilities. The inauguration of MOMUS Air today clearly reflects the determination of the teams at Fraport Greece and MOMUS to overcome challenges and implement an idea with a clear international, cultural, and social footprint.”
Fraport Greece Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr Panagiotis Spyratos, stated: “When culture meets tourism, travelling gains added value and visitors come closer to the identity of the city. MOMUS Air offers travellers an authentic introduction to contemporary Greek creativity and positions Thessaloniki Airport as a space that prioritises the quality of the overall travel experience. It is further proof of our ongoing commitment to positively surprise passengers and bring them closer to the destinations they visit.”
The event was moderated by Mrs Fani Tsatsaia, General Director of MOMUS, and Mr Savvas Karagiannis, Head of Corporate Communications Department at Fraport Greece.
MOMUS Air is part of the project ‘Enhancing Digital Projects and Cultural Exports – MOMUS’ and is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ‘Greece 2.0’, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
The contractor for the MOMUS Air project was TETRAGON Design and Construction Company, which was responsible for the overall design and implementation of the Digital Museum.
Photo Captions:
1. MOMUS Air, the new contemporary art and culture space located at Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”
2. Deputy Minister of Culture, responsible for Contemporary Culture, Mr Iason Fotilas
3. Fraport Greece Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr Panagiotis Spyratos
4. Chairman of the Management Board of MOMUS, Mr Epaminondas Christophilopoulos
5. General Director of MOMUS, Mrs Fani Tsatsaia, and Head of Corporate Communications Department at Fraport Greece, Mr Savvas Karagiannis.
6. From left: Head of Corporate Communications Department at Fraport Greece, Mr Savvas Karagiannis, President, Development Office of the Region of Central Macedonia, Mr Thanos Begas, Chairman of the Management Board of MOMUS, Mr Epameinondas Christofilopoulos, Fraport Greece Chief Operating Officer (COO), Mr Panagiotis Spyratos, General Director of MOMUS, Mrs Fani Tsatsaia, Deputy Minister of Culture responsible for Contemporary Culture, Mr Iason Fotilas, Deputy Governor of Tourism, Mrs Vicky Hatzivassiliou, Deputy Governor of Culture and Sports, Mr Christos Mittas and Deputy Mayor for Culture, Tourism Development and Intermunicipal Cooperation, Mr Vasileios Gakis.
