The dynamics of airlines – Record for all airports in the country
A record year in 2023 for the airports of our country, with the passenger traffic figures sealing both the historical record of all times recorded by the passenger traffic at the Athens International Airport, “Eleftherios Venizelos”but also with the rest of the airports managed by both CAA and Fraport Greece, where a record increase in passenger traffic and flights is expected compared to 2022 and 2019.
Greek airports flew higher than ever in 2023, leaving behind the stigma of the pandemic. The positive messages about the good course of tourism were confirmed very early on, with Greece being an attractive destination.
In particular, for Athens airport, which broke the barrier of 28 million passengers for the first time, in particular a total of 28,174,150 passengers were handled, far surpassing the corresponding previous record of 2019 which was 25.57 million, the positive messages started from the May, with the 2019 record being broken as early as November as passenger traffic through 2023 exploded and each month set a new record.
The passenger traffic of Athens International Airport during the year 2023 amounted to 28.17 million, increased by 24% compared to 2022, but also by 10.2% compared to 2019. Both domestic and international passenger traffic, exceeded the levels of 2022 by 18.9% and 26.4% respectively, while they showed an increase compared to 2019, by 13.3% and 8.8% respectively.
The “take off” months
The numbers are really impressive during the year. Three months with more than 3 million passengers (July, August, September), four months with more than 2 million passengers (April, May, June, October) and five months with more than one million passengers (January, February, March, November, December).
The best month was July (for the first time it surpassed August which is traditionally the first month in traffic, 3,295,923 million passengers ) with 3,299,333 million passengers. The worst month respectively was February with 1,357,990 million passengers.
The largest increase in total traffic was recorded in October with 19% and the smallest in March with 1.1%. This year, for the first time, domestic passengers broke the barrier of one million passengers for two months, in July and August. Conversely, for domestic passengers the only months with movements below one million were January (989,806) and February (916,769).
Increases in international passengers were in the single digits over 2019 in the first nine months and in the double digits in the last quarter. The busiest month was August with 2,274,756 million passengers and the weakest was February with 916,769 thousand passengers. A total of approximately 19.4 million international passengers used “Eleftherios Venizelos” in 2023, one of the most impressive statistics for the airport’s performance, 4 million more than in 2022.
Correspondingly, we had fluctuations in domestic passengers. Eleven months moved positively and one negatively compared to 2019 (February with -0.5%). Of the eleven positive months, nine had a double-digit increase and only two had a single-digit increase (January, March). The best month was July with 1.29 million passengers and the worst was February with 441 thousand passengers.
The dynamics of airlines
The dynamics of the airlines played an important role in the increase in passenger traffic at the International Airport, with AEGEAN at the top of the list, which has contributed the most to this year’s increase in passenger traffic at the airport, as it has also reported record passenger traffic this year.
The Greek company in its winter program gave new, increased options to its passengers, with 18 new routes in 14 countries, compared to last year’s winter program, expanding its network to destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and of Europe. The new destinations are Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Luxor and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Innsbruck (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Chisinau (Moldova), and Cairo for first time from Thessaloniki. Also, for the first time, the company maintains during the winter season the routes from Athens to Bristol and Birmingham, Malaga, Bilbao, Tallinn, Riga, Tunisia, but also to Barcelona from Thessaloniki, supporting the extension of the tourist season, while at the same time increasing frequency to important “established” destinations by adding a second daily flight from Athens to Frankfurt.
In second place is Sky Express. It has the largest network of domestic destinations (33), while it consistently serves with direct flights an ever-expanding network of 15 international destinations (England, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Cyprus, Poland and Bulgaria). It has signed major agreements with global carriers such as Air France, KLM, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Delta, American Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Condor, El Al, Turkish Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Air Transat and easyjet. Therefore, passengers from all over the world have the possibility to travel to Athens International Airport “El. Venizelos” and continue their journey to all the enchanting domestic destinations of SKY express.
A third dynamic company for AIA is Ryanair. The Irish company flies from Athens to Warsaw, Berlin (Brandenburg), Vienna, Vilnius, Budapest, Wroclaw, Brussels Charleroi, Dublin, Catania, Katowice, Corfu, Cologne (Bonn), Krakow, Chania, London, Malta, Milan, Bari, Bologna, Paphos, Rome, Santorini and Tel Aviv.
In 4th place is Wizz Air, a low cost company, one of the most stable and constantly growing presences in “El. Venizelos”. The destinations that one can fly from Athens with Wizz Air at this time are Tirana, Larnaca, Kutaisi, Budapest, Tel Aviv, Milan, Katowice, Abu Dhabi and London.
In fifth place is Lufthansa. The German airline is one of the most stable allies of the Greek airport with a presence of decades and the possibility for many destinations. And Easy Jet, Volotea, Transavia, Emirates continue with a strong presence at AIA and in tenth place is Turkish Airlines which has built a solid relationship with Athens offering important destinations around the world.
Listing on the Stock Exchange – new investments
In the first fortnight of February, the Athens airport is planned to take the big step, passing through the doors of the Athens Stock Exchange. The board of directors has convened an extraordinary general meeting for January 12 in order to take the decisions regarding the listing of the company’s shares on the “Main Market of the Regulated Securities Market of the Athens Stock Exchange”, while among the topics to be discussed is the amendment of the existing articles of association the company’s.
However, market players emphasize that after this development the airport will now be ready to proceed with the large expected investments, which include a new terminal (or a large expansion of the existing one) that did not proceed due to the pandemic, and total investments that are rumored that they exceed 300 million euros in the first phase. However, smaller-scale interventions are already being implemented. Already, the baggage handling systems have been upgraded, the new parking system at arrivals and departures. Six new parking spaces for type C airplanes (Boeing 737/Airbus321) and some helicopter spaces are also being developed. New lounges and new arrivals and departures locations have also been created.
Record in the 11th month at the country’s airports
As far as passenger traffic is concerned, based on the statistics of the 11th month from the Civil Aviation Service for all Greek airports, including AIA, (the total traffic for 2023 is expected in the next few days) we had a record increase in passenger traffic and flights in relation to the corresponding period of 2022 and 2019. In particular, from the analysis and comparison of the data, an all-time record is recorded at the country’s airports as it appears that passenger traffic in the 11th month of 2023 exceeded by 9.6% the 12th month of 2022 In the 11th month of 2023, 69,771,387 passengers were handled at the airports compared to 61,229,394 in the corresponding period of 2022 and 61,665,799 in 2019.
