Int’l Arrivals to Greece Continue to Boost Regional Airport Traffic

Efforts to extend the tourist season are paying off according passenger traffic data presented this week by Fraport Greece, the managing company of 14 of the country’s regional airports.

More specifically, Greece’s 14 regional airports – Aktio, Chania, Corfu, Kavala, Kefalonia, Thessaloniki, Zakynthos, Kos, Mytilini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, and Skiathos – handled 784,981 passengers in November compared to 694,840 in November 2022, marking 13 percent rise over the same month a year ago. Compared to pre-Covid November 2019, passenger traffic this November was up by 8 percent.

Overall, forecasts see passenger traffic reaching 33.8 million by the end of the year compared to 31.2 million in 2022 and 30.2 million in pre-pandemic 2019.

Thessaloniki airport managed to fully recover post-Covid handling a total of 4.46 million international arrivals in the year to November up from 3.74 million last year marking a 19 percent increase. In November, the airport welcomed 245,654 arrivals up by 8.6 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

The only airports that failed to meet the mark were those of Mykonos and Santorini. Mykonos airport marked a 6 percent decline in the 11-month period to 1.12 million passengers from 1.19 million last year while Santorini airport recorded a 10 percent decline in arrivals to 1.51 million compared to 1.68 million in the January-November period in 2022.

Performing well despite the fires, Rhodes airport recorded a 2.7 percent increase in international arrivals in the 11-month period to 5.28 million.

Overall, 33,116,497 passengers went through Greece’s 14 regional airports in the January-November period surpassing last year’s number (30,525,175) by 8.5 percent.

Greece’s 14 regional airports host 110 airline companies and carry out 900 routes to 42 markets. Looking ahead, market experts are expecting the upward dynamic to continue. Speaking at a media briefing last month, Fraport’s Executive Director, Commercial & Business Development, George Vilos, said the outlook for 2024 was “encouraging” with levels remaining very close to this year’s.

Lastly, the country’s largest airport, Athens International Airport (AIA) reported strong international passenger volumes in November, welcoming 1.3 million travelers and 18 million in the January-November period. The airport’s 11-month figures were up by 27 percent over the same period last year and by 8.7 percent over pre-pandemic 2019.

Greece has a total of 38 regional airports; 14 are managed by Fraport Greece and 24 by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA).