Athens International Airport

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said it would pay a subsidy of 24,608,000 euros through a tender for 12 airline services to several Greek islands.

The tender will also set the maximum charter rates according to the season and the minimum frequency of flights.

Athens is among the 20 nominees for Europe's best destination in 2020, being voted on by users of the website European Best Destinations in association with the continent's largest travel agencies.

Greek airports posted an all-time high in terms of passenger traffic last year, which amounted to almost 65.4 million, up 5 percent or 3.1 million passengers from 2018, Civil Aviation Authority data showed on Wednesday.

Athens International Airport is posting record figures ahead of the invitation for the submission of binding offers for 30 percent of its shares.

AIA - whose official title is Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos - registered a historic record of 25.57 million passengers in 2019 - 1.4 million passengers or 6 percent more than in 2018.

Greece will shortlist investors for a minority stake in Athens International Airport (AIA) next month, the head of the country's privatization agency said on Thursday.

Greece holds a 55 percent stake in the airport and 10 investment schemes submitted expressions of interest for the 30 percent stake on sale in October.

Fraport Greece is considering implementing additional non-obligatory investments at Thessaloniki's Makedonia Airport, including the construction and operation of a hotel. The German-Greek consortium has completed most of the initial 450-million-euro investment program in the 14 regional airports it operates.

Athens International Airport recorded a 4.3 percent year-on-year increase in traffic in October, when it was used by 2.3 million passengers.

The number traveling on international flights came to 1.63 million, an increase of 7.2 percent on October 2018. However, domestic traffic continued its downward course for a fourth consecutive month.

Greek airline Sky Express said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with Qatar Airways to cooperate on flights connecting Doha with the Greek islands, in a boost to the country's key tourism industry.

Tourism accounts for about a quarter of economic output in Greece, which saw a record number of about 33 million visitors last year.

Greek authorities say a British Airways jet carrying 158 people from Cyprus to London has made a safe unscheduled landing at Athens International Airport.

Airport officials said the Airbus 320 took off from the city of Larnaca in Cyprus and was in the air on Wednesday evening when the pilot requested permission to land in Athens.

Travel receipts posted a 13.6 percent annual increase in the first seven months of the year to 9.15 billion euros, while air arrivals grew 3.7 percent in January-August, according to figures released by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE).