January – July 2024: Greek Airport Traffic – Over 42 Million Passengers

Greek airports are showing impressive performance, with passenger traffic for the first seven months of 2024 signaling a record-breaking year.

According to data, there was a 9.5% increase in passenger traffic compared to last year across the 39 airports that operate commercial flights in Greece (24 under the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, 14 managed by Fraport Greece, and Athens International Airport).

Specifically, from January to July 2024, a total of 42,538,219 passengers traveled, compared to 38,833,074 during the same period in 2023. Aviation market experts expect August to mark a significant surge in both passenger traffic and flights, with official data due shortly.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) noted in an online post that “Greece continues its positive trend in international air arrivals this summer, making the country one of Europe’s top tourist destinations.” Approximately 9.4 million passengers are expected to travel to Greece between June and September 2024, exceeding 2023’s international air ticket sales by 9.5%, reflecting an increase of 812,000 travelers this summer.

Record Flight Day – August 10, 2024

On Saturday, August 10, 2024, the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority’s Air Traffic Control handled 4,944 flights in the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR), a record-breaking number for arrivals, departures, and overflights.

Athens International Airport – Record Year Ahead

Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” is on track for a record year in both passenger traffic and flight numbers. Over the first seven months of 2024, the airport handled 17.62 million passengers, an increase of 14.6%. Both domestic and international traffic rose by 8.0% and 17.6%, respectively. During this period, the number of flights at Athens International Airport reached 150,344, up 12.4% compared to 2023, with domestic and international flights increasing by 5.5% and 17.8%, respectively.

Fraport Greece’s 14 Regional Airports

Passenger traffic surged at Fraport Greece’s 14 regional airports during the first seven months of 2024. More than 19 million passengers traveled through these airports, marking a 6.4% increase compared to the same period in 2023 (up from 17.95 million to 19.11 million passengers).

The busiest airport was Thessaloniki’s “Macedonia” with 4.07 million passengers, up by 5.2%. Rhodes Airport ranked second with 3.62 million passengers, followed by Corfu Airport with 2.25 million. Chania Airport recorded 2.11 million passengers, and Kos Airport had 1.55 million.

Leading Countries in Passenger Numbers

Among the 14 Fraport Greece airports, the United Kingdom remained the leading market with 1.31 million passengers, followed by Germany with 769,589, Italy with 636,027, Poland with 370,199, and the Netherlands with 221,553. Other countries included France, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Sweden.

Regarding flights, the UK led with 7,965 flights, followed by Germany with 5,007, Italy with 4,333, Poland with 2,036, and France with 1,674. Notable non-European countries included the United Arab Emirates (116 flights), Qatar (38 flights), and Armenia (28 flights).

Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority’s 24 Airports

Passenger traffic at the 24 airports managed by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority increased by 5% in the first seven months of 2024, with a total of 6,054,816 passengers (up from 5,768,484 in 2023).

The most significant increases in July 2024, compared to the previous year, were observed at Kasos Airport (+89.8%), Milos Airport (+33%), Naxos Airport (+30%), and Sitia Airport (+27.7%). In Heraklion Airport, 1.6 million passengers were handled in July 2024, marking a 3% increase over the same period last year. Aircraft movements across the 39 airports monitored by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority rose by 6.9%, with a total of 328,272 flights between January and July 2024 (compared to 306,982 flights in 2023).

International Air Arrivals

International air arrivals in Greece continued to rise, as reported by the SETE (INSETE Intelligence) statistical bulletin. Between January and July 2024, international air arrivals reached 14.4 million, surpassing the 13.3 million recorded during the same period in 2023, a growth of 8.2% or 1.1 million additional arrivals.

In January, 485,000 international arrivals were recorded, an increase of 25.3% (+98,000 arrivals). February saw 462,000 international arrivals, up by 19.5% (+75,000). March arrivals reached 656,000, a 13.7% increase (+79,000), while April saw 1.4 million arrivals, up by 5.6% (+77,000). May’s international air arrivals totaled 2.9 million, a 12.7% rise (+323,000). In June, there were 3.8 million international arrivals, an increase of 5.6% (+203,000). Finally, July recorded 4.6 million international arrivals, up by 5.3% (+235,000).

Airport-by-Airport Overview

During the first seven months of 2024, Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” handled 4.5 million international arrivals, a 12.5% increase (+500,000) compared to the same period in 2023. Thessaloniki Airport recorded 1.4 million international arrivals, up by 3.1% (+41,000). Heraklion Airport saw 2 million international arrivals, an increase of 6.5% (+124,000). Chania Airport recorded 848,000 international arrivals, up by 7.4% (+58,000). Rhodes Airport saw 1.6 million international arrivals, up by 15.4% (+217,000), while Kos Airport had 719,000 international arrivals, an increase of 4.2% (+29,000).

Some airports experienced declines, such as Karpathos, where arrivals slightly decreased by 1.1% (-1,000). Corfu Airport recorded 1.1 million international arrivals, up by 6.5% (+65,000). Zakynthos Airport had 576,000 arrivals, up by 5.9% (+32,000). Kefalonia Airport recorded a 2% increase (+4,000) with a total of 208,000 arrivals, while Aktio Airport saw a 1.3% rise (+3,000) with 222,000 arrivals.

Mykonos and Santorini airports experienced decreases in international arrivals, with Mykonos seeing a 4.8% drop (-14,000) and Santorini down by 0.7% (-5,000), resulting in 282,000 and 408,000 arrivals, respectively.

Kalamata Airport recorded 82,000 international arrivals, an increase of 11.7% (+9,000). Araxos Airport saw 40,000 arrivals, a rise of 13.8% (+5,000). Skiathos Airport had 154,000 arrivals, up by 8% (+11,000). Samos Airport recorded 76,000 arrivals, a 3.7% increase (+3,000).

Some airports, like Kavala Airport, saw a decrease of 8% (-6,000), while Mytilene Airport had 44,000 international arrivals, a 42.6% increase (+13,000).

Domestic Arrivals

During the same period in 2024, 5.4 million domestic air arrivals were recorded, up by 7.8% (+400,000) compared to the 4.9 million in the same period of 2023.

January saw 504,000 domestic arrivals, a 6.5% increase (+31,000). In February, arrivals increased by 10.9% (+50,000) to 506,000. March recorded 608,000 arrivals, a 12.5% rise (+67,000). In April, growth slowed to 3.4% (+23,000), with 704,000 arrivals recorded. May saw a 916,000 total, up by 11.6% (+95,000). In June, arrivals reached 1 million, with a 6.9% rise (+65,000). Finally, July recorded 1.1 million domestic arrivals, a 5.4% increase (+57,000).

Airport-by-Airport Overview of Domestic Arrivals

At Athens International Airport, 2.6 million domestic arrivals were recorded, a 7.5% rise (+180,000). Thessaloniki Airport handled 681,000 arrivals, up by 8.5% (+54,000). Heraklion Airport saw a significant increase of 11.5% (+49,000), reaching 476,000 arrivals. Chania Airport recorded 255,000 arrivals, up by 7.4% (+18,000). Rhodes saw 256,000 arrivals,