August 2021: Greece Records Lowest Decrease in Flights in the EU

Greece recorded the lowest decreases in commercial flights in August 2021, compared to the same month in 2019, showing signs of recovery for its air transport sector, according to Eurostat.

The EU’s statistical office on Tuesday released figures on commercial air transport in August with flights showing signs of recovery for the industry, which had suffered a blow due to the restrictive measures taken by countries since the beginning of 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

According to the data, in August 2021, the number of commercial flights in the EU increased by 48 percent compared with August 2020. This is still well below the pre-pandemic levels (down by 31 percent compared with August 2019).

In absolute terms, the number of commercial flights stood at 479,000 in August 2021, compared with 325,000 in August 2020 and 696,000 in August 2019.

The EU countries with the lowest decreases in commercial flights in August 2021 were Greece, down by just 7 percent compared with August 2019; Romania, down by 18 percent; and Croatia, down by 22 percent.

In contrast, flights decreased by more than half in Finland (-60 percent), Ireland (-55 percent), Slovenia (-54 percent), Slovakia (-52 percent) and Czechia (-51 percent).