One of the best Octobers ever for tourism and airports
The extremely good weather and the dynamic ranking of Greek destinations among the top positions of European travelers’ preferences resulted in one of the best, if not the best, October for Greek tourism of all time.
According to Kathimerini sources, last month’s international traffic at the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece significantly increased compared to the corresponding month of 2019, while Athens International Airport also recorded the best performance compared to 2019 so far this year.
Air traffic to Athens from abroad was only 2.6% below that of October 2019, but this fact is explained by the increases observed at the 14 regional airports, which received more direct flights from abroad in 2022 compared to the last year before the pandemic hit. In fact, Santorini, Skiathos, Corfu and Aktion set historical records during the first 10 months. It is noted that from the beginning of the year until September, at those 14 airports, international traffic exceeded 22.15 million passengers, and total traffic – domestic and international – exceeded 27 million.
This momentum seems to have continued in the first days of November, however, a month when most airlines that fly directly from abroad to the 14 regional airports alter their flight schedules. On Rhodes, the last flight from abroad is scheduled for November 13, while at the other regional airports they are set to stop this Sunday. It is only to Hania that Ryanair will continue to fly all year round twice a week to and from Cyprus, from where other international flights connect.
However, in Thessaloniki, international flights to and from 20 countries will be maintained throughout the winter season, as Makedonia Airport is growing in importance as a connection hub to other destinations in Greece. Simply put, any traffic from mid-November onward to the 14 regional airports will mainly come from connections to Athens and Thessaloniki.
Overall passenger traffic at Athens Airport in October reached 2.29 million passengers and was close to the levels of October 2019 (just 0.5% lower). Domestic passenger traffic at Athens Airport exceeded the levels of October 2019 by 4.6%.
