Kuwait Airways is Back in Athens After 25 Years

The traditional water arch recently welcomed Kuwait Airways to Athens International Airport. Photo source: Mideast Travel

Following a 25-year hiatus, Kuwait Airways has resumed direct services between Kuwait and Athens, Greece, with a two-times-per-week service. The airline had ceased its direct link between Kuwait City and the Greek capital city in 1998.

The news of the airline’s return was announced on Wednesday during a media event held by the airline’s General Sales Agent (GSA), Mideast Travel, and attended by officials of the Kuwaiti Embassy in Greece, the Arab – Hellenic Chamber of Commerce and Development and Athens International Airport (AIA).

“We are very proud to announce that the airline has chosen us as their GSA in Greece,” Mideast Travel Managing Director Souha Katerina Mousbeh said.

“We’re also happy to announce that there will be a direct connection between Kuwait and Athens in the winter… Kuwait Airways decided to fly to Greece all year round and not only in the summer,” she added.

Mideast Travel Managing Director Souha Katerina Mousbeh announcing that Kuwait Airways chose Mideast as their GSA for the Greek market.

Kuwait’s flag carrier made its comeback in Greece in 2022 when it began seasonal flights to Mykonos for the June-September period. Due to the route’s success, the airline resumed the Mykonos service in summer 2023 (June-September) and launched a weekly flight to Athens (June 16) to see how the market will respond. Operating at 70 percent of capacity on the Kuwait-Athens route in the summer, the airline decided to remain in the market and continue flights for the winter season via Airbus A320Neo aircraft (12 business class seats and 122 economy class seats).

“Thanks to the link between Kuwait and Greece, a new opportunity will arise for both countries, which will further enhance the excellent bilateral relation that already exists… This route will give a new boost to the tourism industry and trade,” Kuwait Ambassador in Athens Mansour Saad Al-Olaimi said during his welcoming speech.

Kuwait Ambassador in Athens Mansour Saad Al-Olaimi.

“Kuwait Airways will continue to fly to Athens during winter even without full capacity… This highlights the important relation Kuwait has with Greece, especially when considering that the country is a highly attractive tourism destination to Kuwaiti residents and also a major gateway to Europe,” he added.

Two flights per week, Free baggage allowance

The resumption of direct flights between Kuwait and Athens will see services operate twice a week between the two cities, every Tuesday and Saturday. The duration of the flight from Athens to Kuwait City is three and a half hours and the return flight from Kuwait City to Athens is four hours. Kuwait Airways is also among the few airlines that has a free baggage policy of two pieces per ticketed customer in Business (32kg each) and 2 pieces for passengers flying Economy (23kg each).

While presenting the airline to journalists, Mousbeh highlighted that the Kuwait-Athens route gives the opportunity for passengers to connect to other major destinations in the world. Passengers from Greece can fly to a number of international destinations in the airline’s network including Dubai, India, Thailand, Bangkok, the Philippines and Bangladesh. In total, with a fleet of 32 aircraft, the airline flies to 56 destinations worldwide including destinations in countries in Europe, Asia, the Far East, and Africa.

New Kuwait-Athens route: Benefits

Mideast Travel Managing Director Souha Katerina Mousbeh presenting Kuwait Airways’ winter schedule for Athens.

“This route comes with many benefits as we will be able to give excellent travel packages including air tickets and hotel accommodation to Kuwait and beyond… This cooperation bridges Greece with the Far East and will boost the country’s economy as it will create big opportunities for hotels, restaurants, shops and travel agents,” she said.

“Our main goal is to keep Kuwait Airways in Greece and increase flight frequency between Kuwait City and Athens to even a daily service,” she said.

Mousbeh added that another aim is for the flag carrier of Kuwait to enter a collaboration with other Greek airlines, such as AEGEAN.

“This is very important as it will help both sides,” she said.

Kuwait Airways at Athens International Airport. Photo source: Mideast Travel

This was echoed by the Kuwaiti ambassador. On the sidelines of the event, Mansour Saad Al-Olaimi told GTP Headlines that Kuwait Airways and AEGEAN are in fact exploring the possibility of entering into a codeshare agreement.

“The agreement has not been finalized but talks are in progress,” he said, adding that by working together with another airline will guarantee Kuwait Airways future presence in Greece.

“We are also aiming for Greeks to be encouraged to travel to Kuwait in order for the route to succeed… The Kuwait-Athens route started in the summer as an experiment and a 70 percent capacity was noticed… That persuaded Kuwait Airways to continue into the winter… This year is a test to observe the demand during wintertime,” he added.

Speaking during the media event, Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) Vice President Konstantinos Zikos referred to the strategy of the Greek Tourism Ministry to open new markets. “Τhe opening of the Kuwaiti market will be smooth as there are now direct flights,” he said.

Moreover, the Kuwaiti ambassador informed that an invitation has been extended to Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni to visit Kuwait soon to engage in talks on tourism issues between the two countries. The invitation follows a meeting he had with her in early November.

“Kuwait is also interested in renewing its tourism cooperation agreement with Greece that launched in 2015,” he said.