AEGEAN, Fraport Greece have Thessaloniki at Core of Development Plans

The northern Greek city of Thessaloniki remains firmly at the core of the development plans of Greek carrier AEGEAN and airport operator Fraport Greece.

At a joint event held on Monday in the northern city, the two companies presented their activities at Makedonia Airport and confirmed the dominant position the Greek destination has in the strategy of both companies.

AEGEAN continues to invest in the city with an enhanced schedule of routes both during the summer and winter seasons, making Makedonia Airport the second largest hub in its network and having carried so far more than two million passengers.

“Our close cooperation with Fraport Greece and the new state-of-the-art airport that we all have now at our disposal, has strengthened our momentum and supports our vision and our strategy to make this city and the wider region an attractive destination all year round,” AEGEAN CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis said.

AEGEAN provides Thessaloniki with its own network

Dimitris Gerogiannis, CEO of AEGEAN and George Vilos, Executive Director, Commercial & Business Development of Fraport Greece.

With an expanded network of 19 international routes during the previous summer season, most of which are now maintained throughout the year, and 14 domestic routes, AEGEAN provides Thessaloniki with its own network and connects the wider region of Macedonia with the largest cities in Europe and Greece.

In fact, this winter by maintaining the six new additional international routes to Hamburg, Berlin, Zurich, Brussels, Milan, and Rome launched last summer, AEGEAN recorded a 25 percent increase in its international activity in November, compared to the same month in 2019.

AEGEAN also announced that it would increase available seats for Thessaloniki in the new summer season by 30 percent.

Fraport Greece: €100 million for airport upgrade

On his part, George Vilos, Executive Director, Commercial & Business Development of Fraport Greece, noted that both companies are committed to the further tourism development of Thessaloniki and the wider region of Macedonia.

“It is now a given that the destination ‘Thessaloniki’ with its multifaceted tourism experiences combined with its upgraded connectivity through the development of the AEGEAN network, can attract visitors throughout the year,” Vilos said.

Fraport Greece, seeing the potential of Thessaloniki and the wider region of Macedonia, has invested 100 million euros for the upgrade and expansion of Macedonia Airport. The company remains committed to its goals of operational excellence, expanding its connectivity, and continuously upgrading the passenger experience.

Tourism stakeholders invited to cooperate

During the event, Gerogiannis and Vilos discussed with local stakeholders from the city, tourism, education, and culture about the possibilities of further developing Thessaloniki and the wider region of Macedonia into an even more attractive year-round tourism destination, as well as a technological, educational, and business center.

Both Gerogiannis and Vilos highlighted that for Thessaloniki to attract visitors all year round, the cooperation of the city’s tourism stakeholders is necessary.

“For this joint perspective to succeed, supported by the close cooperation and joint targeting of the two companies, the contribution and commitment of all of the city’s tourism stakeholders is required so that the destination can be promoted in a targeted manner on the basis of a specific and commonly agreed strategic development plan,” Vilos said.