ACI Europe: Airport Traffic in Greece in Upward Trend in January

Airport traffic in Greece continued its upward trend in January marking a 12.4 percent rise compared pre-pandemic 2019, found a report released recently by the Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe).

Overall, airports in Europe saw passenger traffic increase by +7 percent and in the EU by 8 percent in January compared to the same month last year fueled by international passengers (+8 percent) and less so by domestic passengers (+2 percent).

In addition to Greece, exceeding pre-Covid figures in January were Malta (+27 percent), Cyprus (+21.6 percent), Poland (+20.5 percent), Croatia (+15.9 percent), Portugal (+14.8 percent), and Spain (+12.7 percent).

Photo source: ACI Europe

The farthest from a full recovery were the airports of Slovakia (-38.8 percent), Sweden (‑29.2 percent), Slovenia (-27.5 percent), Finland (-24.2 percent), and Germany (‑23.7 percent).

At the same time, Athens International Airport (AIA) was among the airports in its size group to report the best performance in passenger traffic in the first month of the year marking 15.0 percent rise.

Next in line were the airports of Istanbul (+14.3 percent), Lisbon (+14.2 percent), Antalya (+9.7 percent), and Palma de Mallorca (+6 percent).

Photo source: ACI Europe

Domestic traffic for the month outdid pre-Covid figures in January in Greece by 6.9 percent, and in Spain (+12.9 percent), Portugal (+7.3 percent), and Italy (+1.3 percent), where domestic passenger traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

On the downside, domestic passenger traffic at airports in Germany dwindled by 50.9 percent, in Sweden (-41.6 percent), Finland (-31.5 percent), France (-30.5 percent) and the UK (-21.6 percent).

“Overall, January saw the recovery in passenger traffic enduring, with further growth over the past year, and international passenger traffic finally getting back to its pre-pandemic levels after five years,” said ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec.

He went on to add that demand remained resilient despite increased air fares. Looking ahead and in view of easing inflation and growth in real wages, Jankovec expects consumers to prioritize experiences and leisure which will drive growth in demand for air travel.