A new report published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Friday showed how Greek airports have continued to host significantly higher numbers of travelers this year.
Passenger traffic at the twenty-four Greek airports managed by the CAA increased by 6.1 percent in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data.
In total numbers, passenger traffic to and from these airports totaled 9,984,655 in January-September 2024 – half a million passengers up from 9,413,077 in January-September 2023.
Increased passenger traffic at all Greek airports
Besides the twenty-four Greek airports managed by the CAA, passenger traffic was increased at all thirty-nine airports operating in Greece. These also include the Athens International Airport and another fourteen airports managed by Fraport Greece.
The total number of passengers traveling to and from Greek airports was 65,133,705 between January and September 2024, an 8.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023 when the number was 59,901,542.
When it comes to aircraft traffic, the number of scheduled flights, domestic and international, at all Greek airports were also increased, by 6.6 percent in January-September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. 489,694 flights took place in the first nine months of 2024 as opposed to 459,342 in the respective months in 2023.
The continued surge in passenger and aircraft traffic at Greek airports reflects the country’s strong performance as one of Europe’s leading tourism destinations.
September passenger traffic surges at four airports
Passenger traffic at four specific state-run airports in Greece surged to astonishing levels in the month of September.
The airport of Sitia in Crete saw sixty-six percent more passengers in September 2024 than the same month in 2023. Similarly, the airports of Milos, in the Cyclades, and Kozani, in northern Greece, hosted thirty-five percent more passengers each compared to last year.
On the other hand, the most passenger traffic in total numbers among regional airports in September was observed at the airport of Heraclion in Crete; 1.413.761 passengers traveled to and from this airport, 6.6 percent up from 1.326.028 passengers in 2023.
Summer passenger traffic increase at Greek airports
In its previous report, CAA had described a five percent year on year increase of passenger traffic at its 24 airports during the three summer months of 2024, which are considered peak season for air travel in Greece.
The airport of Heraclion saw a 4.5 percent increase equivalent to 400,000 more passengers than the summer months of 2023.
The largest percentage shifts in passenger traffic during the summer were observed at the airport of Kasos, with over ninety nine percent surge campared to summer 2023, followed again by the airports of Sitia and Milos, with forty-nine and twenty-eight percent respectively.
The airports of Kalymnos and Araxos also saw important passenger traffic surges between June and August, scoring nineteen and fourteen percent more travelers than in 2023.
