Athens, Greece – Despite facing recent devastating fires and deadly floods, Greek airport traffic has reached a record high in 2023, according to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency. The data suggests that 2023 is expected to be the best year for passenger traffic, driven by substantial growth in the first eight months.
The report indicates that all Greek airports have experienced increased traffic, including Athens International Airport, twenty-four airports under the management of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, and fourteen regional airports managed by Fraport Greece. Comparing the first eight months of 2023 to the same period in previous years, there is a significant uptick in passenger numbers, with a 14.5 percent increase compared to 2022 and an 11.7 percent increase compared to 2019.
Athens International Airport and the fourteen Fraport Greece airports collectively welcomed over forty million passengers in the first eight months. Athens International Airport alone received 18,668,442 visitors, while the regional airports hosted 24,106,822 visitors, totaling 42,775,264 domestic and international passengers. Notably, international visitors reached 31,999,447 during this period.
Richardos Lambiris, President of Athens International Airport, expressed optimism about the prospects for the year, stating, “If the good performance continues at this rate, this year we will have a record year for the Athens airport, surpassing the historical performance of 2019.” In fact, the data reveals that Athens International Airport has already approached its 2019 passenger numbers by August.
Travelers from several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Israel, Cyprus, Canada, Spain, Austria, and Germany, contributed significantly to the increased traffic at Athens International Airport. Notably, the number of passengers from Austria and the United States increased significantly compared to 2019.
Fraport Greece also anticipates a record year for Greek airport traffic across the fourteen regional airports it manages. Alexander Zinell, CEO of Fraport Greece, projected that the company would see 33 million passengers in 2023, compared to 31.19 million the previous year. Passenger traffic at all regional airports between January and August exceeded twenty-four million, an increase of 8.5 percent compared to 2022.
The report highlights that domestic traffic played a substantial role in the increase, with 4.9 million more passengers compared to the previous year, representing an 18.4 percent increase. Foreign passenger numbers also grew, reaching 19.2 million, a 6.2 percent increase compared to the previous year.
