Greece’s Regional Airports Hit Record in October Passenger Traffic

Greece’s 14 regional airports handled by Fraport, which include major hubs in Chania Crete, Corfu, and Mykonos, continue to see crowds and once again set a new record for passengers in a single month.

According to data released by the airport operator, passenger traffic increased by 11.5 percent to 2.83 million arrivals over the same month in pre-pandemic 2019 and 2.5 million arrivals.

International traffic increased by 14.9 percent to 2.24 million but domestic passenger flows dropped by 0.1 percent compared to the same month in 2019.

Leading the way in October were the airports of Corfu where passenger traffic was up by 19.1 percent, Chania (+14.6 percent), Santorini (+18.4 percent), Kos (+24 percent) and Rhodes (+15.7 percent).

On the downside, the airports of Thessaloniki, Kavala and Lesvos failed to reach 2019 levels.

October is typically considered the end of the tourist season as most airline companies complete their summer flight programs.

January-October 2022

For the 10-month period to October 2022, the country’s regional airports welcomed a total of 29.8 million passengers marking a 3.8 percent rise over the same period in 2019 and 28.7 million arrivals.

International arrivals for the 10 months increased by 7.6 percent but domestic traffic was down by 10.5 percent for the January-October period compared to 2019.

Top performing airports exceeding pre-pandemic levels were those of Santorini (+20.4 percent), Skiathos (+14.6 percent), Mykonos (+10.8 percent), Chania (+10.3 percent), Corfu (+14.5 percent) and Aktion (+23.5 percent).

The airports of Kefalonia (+5.6 percent), Zakynthos (+5.1 percent), Kos (+4.2 percent), and Rhodes (+5.7 percent) also outdid  pre-Covid’s 10-month levels.

Failing to reach 2019 figures the airports of Kavala (-22.2 percent), Thessaloniki (-14.9 percent), Lesvos (-12 percent) and Samos (-5.8 percent).

Meanwhile flight figures for the 10-month period were up by 4.6 percent over 2019 with international flight activity up by 10.9 percent and domestic flights down by 8.9 percent.