Eurocontrol Sees Upward Air Traffic Dynamic for Greece

Greece is set to make a strong comeback as a post-Covid-19 international tourist destination, according to data released this week by aviation experts Eurocontrol, who report a 6 percent increase in airport traffic compared to the previous week but still down by 6 percent compared to the corresponding week in 2019.

More specifically, Greece is showing an upswing in international airport traffic with arrivals and departures in the May 7-13 period at 94 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels and 1,305 routes.

Indicative of Greece’s upward dynamic, Greek airports welcomed 8.1 million arrivals on 89,690 flights in the first four months of the year, up by 383 percent over the same period in 2021, from 1.7 million on 44,185 flights, the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) said this week.

According to Eurocontrol, overall the number of flights across Europe have recouped 86 percent of 2019 levels.

Besides Greece (94 percent), the top 10 states recording over 90 percent of 2019 levels are Norway (101 percent), Turkey (97 percent), Portugal (96 percent), and Spain (93 percent).

In the 19th week of the year, air traffic grew by 1.1 percent compared to the previous week, while a greater recovery is expected in June, when Eurocontrol analysts expect the number of daily flights on to reach 30,000 from 27,207 flights per day over the May 7-13 period.

Eurocontrol analysts are expecting air traffic to pick up significantly in the coming months, forecasting a recovery of 84 percent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels by the end of the year or approximately 9.3 million flights across Europe for all of 2022.