ATHENS – Greece’s airports were overflowing with tourists in January and February during a push to lure people during the winter, so many coming that they handled a record for the two-month period, beating that set in 2019, a year before COVID hit.

That included Athens International Airport (AIA), 24 regional airports managed by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority’s (HCAA) and 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece, said GTP Headlines.

https://news.gtp.gr/2023/03/23/greeces-airports-handle-more-passengers-first-two-months-2023/

They handled more than 4.2 million passengers during that time, a likely harbinger of what could turn out to be a record 2023 after a surge in foreign visitors in 2022 as international air traffic resumed in full.

HCAA data showed the total number of passengers (international and domestic arrivals and departures) in Greek airports during the first two months of 2023 reached 4,282,553, compared to 2,605,083 in the corresponding period of 2022 and 4,178,269 passengers in 2019, the site said.

The data showed a 64.4 percent rise in passenger traffic compared to January-February 2022 and an increase of 2.5 percent compared to the same period in 2019.

During the first two months of 2023, Athens International Airport’s passenger traffic totaled 2.8 million, above 2022 levels by 74.3 percent and higher than the 2019 levels by 3.1 percent.

Athens International Airport’s number of flights during the first two months of 2023 amounted to 26,303, some 24.8 percent above over and 1.7 percent more than in 2019, the report added of the levels.

Fraport Greece-managed airports recorded 12,199 flights, which shows a 12.5 percent increase compared to 2022 (10,845 flights) but also a 5.8 percent drop compared to 2019 (12,944 flights).

Fraport Greece handles airports at three mainland gateways – Thessaloniki, Aktion, and Kavala – and on 11 Greek islands: Chania on Crete, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos.