Thessaloniki Airport

Some regional airports will shut down briefly and gradually between November 2024 and February 2025 for runway upgrades, manager Fraport Greece announced on Wednesday.

Passenger traffic at the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece reached 25.64 million passengers in the eight months of this year, up 6.4% compared to the same period last year.

Greek airports are showing impressive performance, with passenger traffic for the first seven months of 2024 signaling a record-breaking year.

Koukaki, Monastiraki, Thiseio and Pagrati are the areas with the most short-term rental accommodation in Athens, while Crete is the geographical area of the country that has the most Airbnb in Greece, reaching close to 33,000.

Greek islands as well as alternative European destinations or those that favor short road trips in the surrounding areas, such as Marseille, Majorca, Bordeaux and Istanbul, are in the preferences of Greek travelers for the long weekend of Pentecost.

Flight delays have become routine in recent years, not only in Greece, but also at the European level.

Last year, in the 43 countries belonging to the European Aviation Safety Agency (Eurocontrol), three in 10 flights arrived over 15 minutes late, while on average planes would depart 17.8 minutes later than scheduled.

Ferries will depart on Thursday and Friday with a 100% occupancy rate, to serve the Easter travelers, while there are very few airline seats that remain available on the Aegean Airlines network for trips either in Greece or abroad.

January posted a great increase in the number of tourists, but also in the money they spent during their stay in Greece, in what is usually a quiet month for tourism.

According to Bank of Greece data, the annual increase in receipts was 27% and visitors 16% - much higher than the already strong trend of 2023 but also the positive forecasts for 2024 (+10% in arrivals).

Flights abroad for the long weekends of Clean Monday and Independence Day on March 25 are showing increased occupancy rates of over 75%.

For those departing this weekend from Athens, the most popular destinations are Oslo, Bologna, Geneva, Amsterdam and Lisbon, while those departing from Thessaloniki mainly travel to Frankfurt, Berlin, Larnaca, Munich and Dusseldorf.

Aegean Airlines has secured another slot at London's Heathrow airport and is adding to its schedule a fourth daily flight from Athens to the UK's busiest international hub, it said on Tuesday.

The new flight will operate every day throughout the year except on Saturdays, leaving Athens at 4 p.m. local time and London/Heathrow at 7 p.m. local time.