Greece’s Regional Airports See 2020 Traffic Plunge by 71%

Covid-19 drove passenger traffic through Greece’s 14 regional airports down by 71.4 percent in 2020 against 2019, according to managing company Fraport Greece.

More specifically, according to data provided by the company, the 14 Greek airports handled only 8,611,780 passengers in 2020 compared to 30,150,737 in 2019. 

Domestic travel dropped by 62.1 percent while international traffic fell by 74.2 percent impacted by the restrictions in travel due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

Skiathos airport recorded the largest annual drop of passenger traffic down by 80.1 percent against 2019 levels followed by the airports of Kavala down by 77.5 percent, Chania  (-76.4 percent), Zakynthos (-76.2 percent), Kefalonia and Santorini (-75.1 percent) and Aktion (-74.2 percent).

Lesvos airport recorded the smallest decline with passenger traffic down by 58.5 percent compared to 2019. 

Meanwhile, Thessaloniki airport, the country’s second largest, saw traffic drop by 66.4 percent to 2.3 million passengers against 6.9 million in 2019.

The number of flights touching down at Greece’s regional airports fell by 58.9 percent compared to 2019 marking a 65.4 percent decline in international flights and a 46.3 percent drop in domestic flights.

The top five markets of incoming travelers to Greece for 2020 through the regional airports were Germany (2.6 million), the UK (1.7 million), Poland (403,232), Holland (323,978), and Italy (293,053).

December

The number of passengers in December through the 14 airports run by Fraport fell by 85.3 percent to 102,623 against 2019 with the airports of Aktion, Kavala and Skiathos nearing a standstill. Thessaloniki airport also recorded a major drop, reaching 88.4 percent and welcoming only 52,035 passengers in total.

International passenger traffic at Fraport’s Greek airports in December was down by 90.6 percent to a mere 27,205 arrivals from 290,660 in 2019. Domestic travel fell by 81.4 percent. 

In total, air traffic to Greece in 2020 dropped to a record 30-year low of 19.7 million arrivals as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions, according to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA).