Winter Season: 21% More Flights to Athens International Airport

Photo: AIA

Athens International Airport (AIA) is showing signs of growth with a 21 percent rise in the number of airlines either choosing to service Athens or increase their flight frequency.

According to forecasts, flights to Greece are expected to record an upturn for the winter season on the back of a better-than-expected increase in the number of passenger arrivals to the country for the first 10 months of 2014.

The ongoing winter season has demonstrated a 21 percent increase flights to AIA, with 110 being new, weekly international flights and the remaining 85 weekly domestic flights.

According to Greek daily Kathimerini, the number of airlines setting up shop at AIA this season is on the rise, with newcomers including Gulf Air, Ryanair, Iberia, Transavia France, Arkia Airlines and Air Armenia.

New destinations for the winter season include Bahrain, Bergamo, Brussels, London (Stansted), Naples, Paphos, Rome (Ciampino) and Yerevan.

In the meantime, airlines have also upped the frequency of 18 scheduled flights, 14 of which are run by Aegean Airlines.

Specifically, Etihad has boosted its flights to Abu Dhabi, Transavia to Amsterdam, Aegean to Barcelona, Belgrade, Berlin, Bucharest, Budapest, Genoa, Istanbul, Larnaca, Prague, Rome (Fiumicino), Sofia, Tel Aviv, Tirana and Vienna, British Airways to London (Heathrow) and EL AL to Tel Aviv.

A total of 13 airlines are now offering services to current destinations. Aegean to Abu Dhabi, Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Copenhagen, Manchester, Marseille, Stockholm and Zurich. Iberia services Madrid, Transavia flies to Paris (Orly), Vueling to Rome and Arkia Airlines to Tel Aviv.

Estimates for the summer season indicate an increase in tourist arrivals. A slot conference to take place next week will provide a more detailed description of the airlines’ activity at AIA.

According to reports, Swiss and its subsidiary Edelweiss are expected to boost their activities in Athens by offering connections to major Greek islands.