AEGEAN: 2.6m Passengers in January-March, 5% Higher than Pre-pandemic 2019

AEGEAN’s total passenger traffic for the first three months of the year was 72 percent higher than 2022 to 2,6 million passengers, giving a positive outlook for demand for travelling in Greece even before the start of the main tourist season, the Greek airline company said on Tuesday.

According to AEGEAN’s Q1 2023 trading update, the Group for the first time exceeded the respective figures of 2019 with 5 percent increase.

International passenger traffic from the country’s two largest airports (in Athens and Thessaloniki) almost doubled (+98 percent) over last year and also recorded a significant growth of 17 percent from 2019.

With Q1 considered to be the weakest quarter of the year, AEGEAN CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis commented that enhancing and extending the winter season is always at the forefront of the company’s commitment to Greece.

“We are particularly pleased that our investment in more destinations in the low season has brought a significant increase in passengers with even higher capacity,” he said.

Gerogiannis added that indications and bookings for the summer remain positive, which, “as always will shape the year’s results”.

• +97% international passengers compared to 2022 to/from Athens, +16% vs 2019
• +107% international passengers compared to 2022 to/from Thessaloniki, +23% vs 2019

AEGEAN’s international passenger traffic from Athens International Airport (AIA) in the January-March period grew by 16 percent compared to 2019. During the winter season, six new direct routes with higher frequencies were added to existing ones, supporting the dynamics of Athens as an attractive destination throughout the year.

The results of international passenger traffic from and to Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”, the second largest hub of AEGEAN, showed an increase of 23 percent compared to 2019 and 107 percent compared to the previous year. AEGEAN for the first-time launched direct connections in winter from Thessaloniki to Rome, Milan, Berlin, Brussels and Zurich.

AEGEAN in the overall 2023 schedule will operate 76 aircraft and offer a total of 18 million seats, with 11 million international seats, 2 million more compared to 2022 and 800,000 more than in 2019.

The carrier will operate to 161 destinations in 46 countries with 264 direct routes and has already received three of the 9 new Airbus 320/321 neo aircraft scheduled for 2023, already reaching 22 of the 46 total Airbus 320/321 neo aircraft order.