Kastelli: three-year agreement prepares airport technology testing
Greece’s Infrastructure Ministry and the airport company sign a framework for an Umbrella Sandbox. A working group and timetable are next; testing has not been announced as operational.
A three-year cooperation memorandum to prepare technology-testing infrastructure at the new Heraklion airport in Kastelli was signed on 29 October 2026 by Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Dimas and airport-company chief executive Nikos Anastasiou, according to the ministry’s official announcement.
The planned Umbrella Sandbox would enable real-world testing of applications in artificial intelligence, data management, energy and transport, under the competent regulators and existing legal framework.
Where the initiative stands
The signature is the confirmed step. A working group and a joint timetable are to follow, the ministry says. Its announcement does not establish that the testing infrastructure is already operating.
No specific testing start date, budget or open participation call for companies and researchers is published. Expectations about developing technology products are the signatories’ objectives, rather than measured results already achieved.
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