Greek Regional Airports Report First-half Passenger Growth

Thessaloniki Airport. Photo source: Fraport Greece

Fraport’s airport network in Greece experienced growth in the first half of 2024, with passenger numbers up by almost 8 percent compared to the same period last year.

From January to June, 12,701,048 passengers passed through the country’s 14 regional airports, alongside 102,195 flights, marking increases of 7.8 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively. International arrivals were up by 7.8 percent and domestic traffic by 7.9 percent over the first half of 2023.

According to data, passenger traffic through 13 of the 14 Greek regional airports managed by operator Fraport Greece recorded high performances in the first six months of the year. Mykonos was the only destination that saw the January-June period end with a slight drop (0.4 percent) in passenger traffic.

Mytilini Airport recorded the highest growth of 14.9 percent compared to last year, followed by Rhodes Airport with a double-digit increase of 11.9 perent.

In absolute numbers, Thessaloniki Airport welcomed the most passengers, with 3.2 million travelers. The northern Greece airport was followed by Rhodes Airport with 2.3 million, Chania Airport with 1.4 million, and Corfu Airport with 1.35 million travelers.

The top five regional airports that welcomed the most passengers during the first six months of the year include Santorini Airport in fifth place, which recorded 1.03 million passengers between January and June.

June

June 2024 was a strong month for the airports managed by Fraport Greece, with 5,279,366 passengers and 39,106 flight movements, representing increases of 5.9 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.

International traffic was up 5.9 percent and domestic traffic saw an increase of 6 percent compared to the same month last year.

Mytilini recorded the biggest percentage increase at 23.4 percent, followed by Samos at 11.5 percent and Chania at 10.9 percent.

Airports that saw losses in passenger traffic included Mykonos (-0.8%) and Kavala (-7.4%) compared to June 2023.

In absolute numbers, the highest performance was recorded by the airport of Rhodes, with 1.05 million travelers, followed by Thessaloniki with over 718,000 passengers and Corfu with over 708,000 visitors.

Regarding the countries of origin for travelers, the United Kingdom ranked first, followed by Germany and Poland. Italy and the Netherlands followed, with Sweden, France, Austria, Denmark, and the Czech Republic completing the top 10.

Mykonos and Santorini

Tourist traffic to Greece’s two most popular islands – Mykonos and Santorini – was slow in the first five months of the year. However, the data from the first half of 2024 shows that Santorini performed better than Mykonos.

According to the data, air passenger traffic to Mykonos saw a marginal drop of 0.4 percent to 468,655 passengers in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023 (470,557 passengers). International traffic decreased by 4.8 percent to 259,625 passengers, while domestic traffic increased by 5.7 percent to 209,030 passengers.

In June, Mykonos also recorded a 0.8 percent decline in passenger traffic compared to last year. International traffic dropped by 3.7 percent to 176,254 passengers, while domestic traffic rose by 5.5 percent to 87,924 passengers.

In contrast, Santorini showed better performance, covering the losses of the previous months and closing the first half of the year with a 5.4 percent year-to-date increase to 1,031,556 passengers. International traffic remained steady at last year’s level (454,201 passengers), while domestic traffic rose by 10.2 percent to 577,355 passengers compared to 2023.

Santorini airport also regained lost ground in June alone, with total passenger traffic increasing by 1.6 percent to 418,862 passengers compared to last year. A marginal year-to-date increase of 0.9 percent was noted in international traffic (241,678 passengers), with domestic traffic up by 2.7 percent (177,184 passengers).