Greek airports show signs of rebounding from pandemic

There are signs of recovery in passenger traffic at the country’s airports with an increase of 673.4% recorded in May, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Overall statistics for the first five months of 2021, from all airports in the country, however, continue to reflect the negative effects of the pandemic, recording a drop of 48% compared to the same period last year.

In particular, the statistics of the CAA for passenger traffic at airports during the five months January-May 2021 show the following:

The total number of passengers handled reached 2,913,951, showing a decrease of 48% compared to the corresponding period of 2020, when 5,606,154 passengers were handled. In terms of flights at the country’s airports, they totaled 61,172 of which 42,730 were domestic and 18,442 international, a decrease of 16% compared to the corresponding period of 2020 where a total of 72,823 flights were operated.

It is characteristic that this May shows signs of recovery compared to last year. The increase in passenger traffic at the country’s airports in May was led by the easing of restrictive measures combined with an increase in tourists from abroad.

Specifically, in terms of arrivals of foreign passengers this year amounted to 383,107, while in 2020 only 14,273 passengers had arrived, an increase of 2,584.1%. The total number of flights (domestic and international) amounted to 19,608, also recording an increase of 194.3% compared to the corresponding period of 2020 when 6,663 flights were operated. The total number of transported passengers (arrivals / departures) reached 1,250,187, showing an increase of + 673.4% compared to the passenger traffic of 2020.

Compared to last year, in May this year, the performance may show improvement, but compared to the corresponding month of 2019 when there was no Covid-19 disease and flight restrictions, arrivals of foreign passengers show a decrease of 99.4% and the total passenger traffic at Greek airports fell by 97.2%.