Fraport: Greek Regional Airports See Passenger Traffic Exceed 25.6 Million in January-August

Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)

Passenger traffic at the 14 Greek regional airports operated by Fraport Greece surpassed 25.6 million passengers in the first eight months of the year, marking a 6.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.

During January-August, domestic traffic grew by 7 percent, while international traffic increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year. Additionally, the number of flights rose by 4.3 percent over the same period.

Mytilini Airport experienced the most significant increase in passenger numbers, during the first eight months of 2024, with a 15 percent rise to 397,000 passengers. This was followed by Rhodes Airport, which saw a 13.4 percent increase, reaching 4.8 million passengers. Notable increases were also observed at the airports in Chania (+8 percent), Corfu (+7 percent), and Zakynthos (+6.5 percent).

August: Rhodes Airport achieves highest performance

In August, passenger traffic increased by 6.1 percent, while the number of flights rose by 3.6 percent compared to the previous year.

Among the 14 regional airports, Rhodes achieved the highest performance in August, with passenger traffic exceeding 1.26 million travelers. This represents a 16.9 percent increase from 2023, making Rhodes the top airport in terms of traveler volume. Mytilini (+13 percent), Chania (+9.4 percent), and Corfu (+7 percent) also showed strong performances.

Conversely, among popular island destinations, Mykonos was the only airport to experience a decline, albeit a modest one. It recorded 1.24 million passengers over the eight-month period, a decrease of 1.3 percent, with 848,000 being international travelers, down 3.2 percent.

Santorini, however, rebounded, closing the eight-month period with a 3.6 percent increase in total passenger traffic, reaching over 2 million passengers. It also saw a marginal increase of 0.9 percent in international traffic, totaling 1.15 million passengers.

From mainland Greece, Kavala was the only airport to experience a decrease, with an 8-month drop of 5.8 percent, bringing its total to 212,000 passengers.

Top markets

In terms of inbound traffic to Greek airports under Fraport Greece’s management, the United Kingdom led with 1.37 million passengers, followed by Germany with 828,000 and Italy with 699,000. The top five markets were rounded out by Poland with 376,000 and France with 244,000 travelers.