Athens International Airport

Passenger traffic posted a major increase across the country's airports during the year's first five months, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Greek tourism destinations are moving at different speeds, with some areas even showing a decrease in arrivals from last year.

Greek tourism is heading for a new record for travel receipts this year despite the decline in the growth rate of bookings from Germany for holidays in Greece in the third quarter. Last year, travel receipts reached 17.7 billion euros, while the record belongs to 2019, with €18.2 billion. The challenge for this year is to exceed €18.5 billion.

With tourism arrivals expected to set a new record this summer, foreign airlines are strengthening their presence in the Greek market. These are not last-minute decisions, given that by early 2023 flights to Greece had already exceeded those of 2019.

During this summer, Greece is not only certain to post a record number of flights and passengers but also a record amount of delays in the departures and arrivals of airplanes.

Compared to the corresponding period of 2019, the number of passengers handled by Athens International Airport has increased by 4%, to 6.6 million people, in the first four months of this year.

Passenger traffic at the 14 largest airports outside of Athens - operated by Fraport Greece - showed a slight decrease in the first quarter of this year compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

The annual arrival of the Holy Light in Athens will take place on Holy Saturday (April 15) aboard a special flight conducted by Aegean Airlines from Jerusalem. It will later be shared by airplane with other major cities ahead of church easter services at midnight that day.

Aegean reported a significant increase in passenger traffic during the winter period, reflecting the airline's investment in the weakest quarter of the year and the positive outlook of tourism in the country.

Passenger traffic exceeded 2019 levels by 5% in the first quarter of 2023 and jumped 72% compared with 2022, totaling 2.6 million passengers.

Greece is gaining broader access to the American tourism market with the resumption of direct flights by Air Canada to Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport for the new tourism season, as there had been no direct flights from Canada to the Greek capital until recently.

The Ministry of Infrastructure has published an open call for airlines interested in operating flights to three international airports in Slovenia under a scheme that aims to improve air connectivity after a very slow post-Covid recovery.