Covid-19 Aviation Directives Keep Passenger Traffic Down in Greece

Passenger traffic at Greek airports continued its downward trend in February due to travel restrictions and constant aviation directives (NOTAMS) issued due to the coronavirus (Covid-19)  pandemic.

According to data released on Tuesday by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), a total of 330,005 passengers passed through Greek airports in February, down by 84.5 percent, compared to 2,125,944 in the same month a year ago.

Over the same month, Greek airports handled 8,665 flights, marking a 58.8 percent decline against 21,022 flights in total in the corresponding 2020 period.

International passenger arrivals in Greece fell by 91.5 percent to 50,238 in February compared to 592,977 during the same month in 2020.

“Passenger traffic is down for the twelfth consecutive month as travel restrictions for air travel are still in force,” the HCAA said.

Regarding the passenger traffic at Greek airports during January-February 2021, only 713,578 passengers passed through Greek airports, recording an 83.7 percent drop compared to the first two months of 2020 (4.4 million). It is noted that flight restrictions were not in force in February 2020.

Flights at Greece’s airports during the first two months of the year amounted to 18,683 (of which 14,087 were domestic and 4,596 were international), resulting to a decrease of 57.5 percent, compared to the corresponding period of 2020 when 43,922 flights had been recorded.

The HCAA’s first aviation directive issued due to Covid-19 was issued in March 2020 and concerned the suspension of flights to/from Northern Italy.

Following is data on the drop in passenger traffic at Athens International Airport (AIA) and 14 of Greece’s regional airports for February 2021 and the first two months of the year.

Athens Airport

February 2021 passenger traffic at Athens International Airport (AIA) was below the respective 2020 levels by 85.5 percent, recording only 198,033 passengers. Both domestic and international passenger traffic were sharply reduced, by 76 percent and 89.8 percent, respectively.

Overall, during January-February 2021, the airport’s passenger traffic totalled approximately 431 thousand, a decline of 84.8 percent compared to 2020, as a result of the sharp traffic drop suffered due to the impact of the pandemic, since March 2020.

More specifically, the volumes of domestic and international passengers decreased by 75.2 percent and 88.9 percent, respectively, compared to 2020.

The number of international and domestic flights at AIA during the first two months of the year reached 10,856, down 58.8 percent from 2020, impacted by flight cancellations due to the pandemic.

In February alone, the decrease in flights was 50.6 percent, compared to the same month last year.

Greek regional airports

Total traffic figures for the 14 Greek regional airports managed by Fraport Greece declined by 84.1 percent to 93,813 passengers in February 2021, compared to 591,452 during the same month in 2020.

International passenger arrivals fell by 93.3 percent to 15 thousand from 229 thousand the year before in February, while domestic traffic reached 78,522 passengers, down by 78.3 percent, compared to 362,420.

The number of flights at the 14 Greek airports during that month amounted to 2,740, down by 55 percent compared to the respective 2020 levels.

During January-February 2021, passenger arrivals at the 14 Greek airports dropped by 83.4 percent to 202,746 compared to some 1.2 million in the corresponding period of 2020. Domestic passenger arrivals were down by 77.6 percent and international passenger arrivals were down by over 92.3 percent.

The number of flights at the 14 Greek airports during the first two months of 2021 amounted to 5,897, down by 53.5 percent compared to the respective 2020 levels.

Fraport Greece manages the airports of Aktio, Chania, Corfu, Kavala, Kefalonia, Thessaloniki, Zakynthos, Kos, Mytilini, Mykonos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini and Skiathos.