Market Analysis III: Athens Airport’s Top Markets – GERMANY

Athens in the Spotlight!

Welcome to GTP Headlines’ weekly feature, spotlighting the top markets of Greece’s largest and foremost gateway.
Each week, based on exclusive facts and data of Athens International Airport, we’ll explore the markets that bring travelers from around the world to Greece through this bustling hub.

In the 3^rd week of our Market Analysis, we turn our attention to the German market, reflecting the significant role it plays in shaping Athens International Airport’s (AIA) international traffic.

One of the TOP markets for Athens Airport, the German market ranked 3rd in terms of foreign arrivals and 1st in direct traffic in 2023.

For the first half of 2024, the German market is again in the 3rd position in foreigners’ arrivals (Tourism) and 2nd in direct, recording spectacular growth compared to the same period 2023 with +48% and +21% respectively.

When compared to the pre-pandemic era, the growth of traffic from the German market is even more spectacular, with +12% in Direct traffic and +26% in Foreign arrivals.

It is noted however that Germany was the last of the big markets for Athens to recover, as it marginally underperformed in direct traffic in 2023 by -1.5% (vs. 2019) and by -17% in foreign arrivals. Therefore, Germany as a market recovered in late 2023 and has been growing even more in 2024.

The main driver for this significant recovery and growth in traffic is down to the additional direct capacity deployed which increased by 28% in the first half of 2024, when compared to the same period in 2023.

Compared to the pre-Pandemic era (2019), same period, direct capacity increased by 20%.

Network Developments: 150 weekly departures in 2024
2024 – A turning point for the German market to / from Athens

For 2024, Athens is directly connected to 9 airport destinations with flights operated by 6 airlines – AEGEAN, Eurowings, Lufthansa, Ryanair, Scoot & SKY express – resulting in 150 weekly departures, or 21.4 daily (peak Summer season).

Current Status – Summer 2024

Back in 2019, Athens was directly connected to 10 airport destinations with flights operated by 5 airlines, offering 131 weekly departures, or 18.7 daily.

Route Development

• In 2021, during the pandemic, the network structure to Germany remained unchanged with 10 airport destinations and gained 1 new airline, WizzAir Europe, however weekly frequencies were reduced due to the situation.
• In 2022, the network started to recover despite the loss of 1 destination, as available services increased by 1 and weekly frequencies improved.
• During that Summer (2022), AEGEAN added a NEW destination – Nuremberg – with 2 weekly frequencies and Scoot entered the German market. In addition, AEGEAN and Ryanair added services to Cologne, while AEGEAN reconnected Hanover after a 2 years break (2020 & 2021).
• In 2023, weekly frequencies returned to the pre-Pandemic levels. Condor added 5 weekly frequencies to Dusseldorf and Sky Express entered the German market offering 6 weekly frequencies to Munich. It is noted that Sky Express inaugurated operation to Munich in November 2022.
• Again, in November 2023 Sky Express added services to Dusseldorf and to Frankfurt.
• Therefore, Athens network to Germany is further enriched in Summer 2024, with available services increasing from 17 pre-Pandemic to 20 and weekly frequencies/departures from 131 to 150.
• In addition to Sky Express, AEGEAN increased weekly frequencies by 2 at Berlin, increased to double daily at Frankfurt and increased by 2 at Munich. Scoot returned to Berlin, offering 5 weekly frequencies.

Passenger traffic evolution

Compared to pre-Pandemic (2019), direct passenger traffic recovered at 98.5% in 2023 and following continuous discussions with our airlines and targeted destination marketing campaigns in Germany promoting Athens as a year-round, city-break destination, is increasing further by 12% in 2024.

The enhancement of the direct network and increase in available capacity resulted in 139 thousand additional direct passengers in the Winter months (November 2023 to March 2024 versus November 2022 to March 2023).

Impressively, Global travel data (IATA) for destination Athens reveals that a significant number of passengers from Germany are traveling Indirectly to Athens. For 2023, this number reached 39 thousand passengers (one-way) that travelled via other airports. Indeed, this is a significant number especially for a big European market. In addition to Frankfurt and Munich that offers connecting traffic to Athens, Vienna and Zurich are also benefiting, with the TOP 4 connecting hubs accounting for 74% of the total Indirect traffic.

For 2023 and based on Global travel data (IATA), 273 thousand passengers (one-way) connected via Germany (DE) to reach Athens. This connecting traffic is slightly below when compared to pre-Pandemic era (2019). USA is the TOP market that connects via Germany to Athens.

In addition, Athens also serves as a connecting HUB for German traffic to/from the region. In 2023, based on Global travel data (IATA) 132 thousand passengers (one-way) travelled from Germany via Athens to the final destination. This traffic, impressively increased by 51% when compared to 2019. In addition to other Greek destinations, travelers are connecting to Egypt, Cyprus, Lebanon etc.

Passenger demographics:
The German traveler for Athens

Germans are Athens most frequent visitors, they travel mainly as Couples, or Solo with an average age of 44 years.

Main characteristics

Occupation: 73% in private sector, but with a considerable share of retired individuals  (8%)
Length of stay: 3 days in Athens and 10 days overall in Greece
Trip purpose: Holidays (72%) , combined to a large extent with visits to friends and relatives (19%)
Stay: Less than 60% stay in hotels. They choose Airbnb’s (10%), along with homes of friends and relatives or their own(9%)
Activities: They show great interest in cruising the islands of the Saronic Gulf, taking a City Bus Tour, visiting Niarchos Foundation … but also enjoying adventures in nature.
Favorite destinations: Crete (18%), Mytilene (11%), Kos (9%) and Rhodes (9%)

Germans mostly wish to “visit Athens & Greece from end to end and search for  hidden gems”

Evaluation of Athens: 78% said that the city experience was above their expectations
Revisit Athens: 85% stated that they will revisit during 2024

Future opportunities: additional capacity & NEW destinations

(a) Due to the volume of Indirect traffic, additional capacity and weekly frequencies on existing routes are needed, therefore, there is a huge potential for airlines to further exploit
(b) Additionally, the impressive volume of Indirect travel, highlights the need for additional new destinations in Germany that will allow for current indirect travel to travel directly and further stimulate the size of the local market.
(c) Improved connections via Athens to include more regional destinations for the German market and therefore contribute to the enhancement of the options for the traveling public

View also:

Market Analysis I: Athens Airport’s Top Markets – UNITED STATES

Market Analysis II: Athens Airport’s Top Markets – UNITED KINGDOM