Passenger Traffic at Athens Airport Reaches 90% of 2019 Levels

Air traffic at Athens International Airport (AIA) is on a path of recovery, with the number of flights gradually increasing.

According to data released recently by AIA, the airport’s passenger traffic during May 2022 amounted to 2.05 million, below the respective 2019 levels by 10.2 percent.

“Traffic is progressively recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact, as we are heading towards the peak summer period,” AIA said in an announcement.

Domestic passengers during May were below the respective 2019 levels by 4.3 percent and international air travellers presented a 12.8 percent decline against 2019.

January-May 2022

Overall, during the first five months of 2022, the airport’s passenger traffic totalled approximately 6.5 million, below the respective 2019 levels by 24.4 percent.

Analytically, domestic passengers lagged behind the 2019 levels by 16.9 percent and international passengers by 27.8 percent.

AIA’s number of flights during the first five months of 2022 amounted to 68,856, i.e. 11.4 percent below the respective 2019 levels.

According to the airport’s data, both domestic and international flights remained below 2019 levels, by 2.2 percent and 17.9 percent, respectively.

Athens Airport welcomes more flights

Speaking during the 5th Conference on Infrastructure and Transport – ITC 2022, held recently by websites ypodomes.com and metaforespress.gr at the Megaron Concert Hall, AIA President Riccardo Lambiris said that Athens’ airport is seeing a boost in flights from major tourism markets, such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

According to Lambiris, flights from the US this year are up by 60 percent and from the UK by 13 percent, compared to 2019. He also added that flights have increased from Austria by 13 percent and France by 9 percent.

Overall, Athens International Airport (AIA) this season is welcoming 43 new routes on existing services, including 6 new airlines (Jet2, Condor, Flyr, Air Albania, Eurofly, TUS Airways) and 8 new destinations (Bilbao, Birmingham, Boston, Florence, Eindhoven, Leipzig, Nis and Turin).