August 2014: Airports In Athens & Mykonos Among Those With Highest Passenger Traffic In Europe

Mykonos Airport.

The airports in Athens and Mykonos are among the European airports that had the highest increase in passenger traffic for the month of August this year, according to data released recently by European airport trade body Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.

Athens International Airport (AIA).

The ACI Europe’s latest traffic report showed that Athens International Airport (AIA) experienced a 22.8 percent increase in passenger traffic in August. ACI Europe has included AIA in the group of European airports welcoming between 10 and 25 million passengers along with the airports in Istanbul, Hamburg, Brussels and Lisbon.

Mykonos Airport also experienced one of the highest increases in passenger traffic in Europe in August as it reported a growth of 32.8 percent for that month. The Greek Island is included in the group of European airports welcoming less than 5 million passengers per year along with the airports in Chambery, Chisinau, Kiruna and Belgrade.

The ACI Europe Airport Traffic Report – August 2014 includes 208 airports in total representing more than 88 percent of European air passenger traffic. The report is the only air transport report which includes the full range of civil aviation passenger flights: network, low cost, charter and others.

EU airports fared extremely well

In regards to the whole European airport network, ACI EUROPE revealed that passenger traffic at Europe’s airports grew by 7 percent in August compared to the same month last year.

“August saw a remarkable surge in air traffic at Europe’s airports, further outperforming wider economic conditions,” Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE said.

More specifically, passenger growth at airports in the EU reported a robust result of +6.6 percent year-on-year. The report also showed that freight traffic saw growth of +3.3% while aircraft movements – an indication of airline capacity – grew by +3.4%.

“A key factor has been airlines adding more capacity, as evidenced by the increase in aircraft movements – which on a monthly basis was the strongest since 2011,” he said.

ACI EUROPE’s director general added that the increase in aircraft movements was mostly driven by low cost carriers, which are reinforcing their presence in primary markets – occasionally at the expense of secondary and smaller regional airports.