Athens Airport Sees March Passenger Traffic Jump 20% to 2 Million

Athens International Airport. Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)

Passenger traffic at Athens International Airport (AIA) in March increased by 20.1 percent to 2 million passengers, compared to 2023.

According to AIA’s monthly report, both domestic and international passenger traffic exceeded 2023 levels by 12.6 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively.

Overall, in the first three months of the year, the airport’s traffic reached 5.2 million passengers, an increase of 16.5 percent from 2023.

Both domestic and international passenger traffic rose by 10.3 percent and 19.4 percent, respectively.

The number of flights at Athens Airport during the first three months of 2024 amounted to 46,334, i.e. 12.8 percent above last year’s levels. Both domestic and international flights were above the 2023 volumes by 6.5 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively.

Speaking during a recent media event, AIA Director of Communications and Marketing Ioanna Papadopoulou said that more and more airlines are expressing interest to fly to Athens.

“There are many airlines from around the world that have decided to increase their routes to Athens,” Papadopoulou said.

More travelers from US, China expected

Ioanna Papadopoulou, Director of Communications and Marketing of AIA, presenting data during a recent media event.

Referring to this season, she mentioned that Athens’ main markets this year will be the United States and Europe.

With regard to the US market, Emirates runs year round daily flights between Athens and New York (Newark) and a number of airlines including Delta, United, American Airlines, will soon begin seasonal flights and connect the Greek capital with direct service to six US cities (New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Philadelphia). Moreover, this year’s new additions for direct flights connecting Athens with the US include a service announced by Norse Atlantic Airways.

There will be a total of 11 routes between Greece and the US this year.

Papadopoulou also mentioned that Athens Airport is expecting an increase of Chinese travelers, considering that China was the last market to open to travel in August 2023 after the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

It is noted that Air China last month announced more flights per week between Athens and Beijing, increasing them from three to five as of this month. Also, Juneyao Air recently made its inaugural flight from Shanghai to Athens.

Moreover, Papadopoulou said that since last year, Athens has started to become an all-year-round destination, with more passengers arriving outside the usual summer period.

“Even in November and February, which are traditionally months of low traffic, we are seeing higher numbers,” she said.