Greece Sees Air Arrivals Rise Slightly in April

Makedonia Airport, Thessaloniki. Photo source: Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority

After nearly 14 months of restrictions and lockdown measures, Greek airports recorded a slight increase in the number of international arrivals in April this year up by 1.75 percent, according to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA).

“April 2021 is the month when the upward trend of arrivals began, compared to the same month in 2020 when there was a universal lockdown, as Greece began to receive travelers from some countries without the restriction of quarantine, provided that they are either fully vaccinated or have a negative PCR test result,” the HCAA said.

More specifically, 101,521 international passengers arrived in Greece in April compared to 5,484 in the same month last year, marking a 1.75 percent rise. 

The number of flights increased by 126.1 percent in April to 12,569 in total (both domestic and international) compared to 5,559 flights in April 2020.

83.8% drop compared to 2019

However, the Covid-19 impact on arrivals and air travel is evident when comparing the figure to the same month in 2019, revealing an 83.8 percent drop.

For the four-month period to April, 1,663,764 passengers went through Greek airports down by 69.4 percent compared to the same period in 2020 with 5,444,514 arrivals.

In the same period, a total of 41,564 flights touched down in Greece – 30,951 international and 10,613 domestic – marking a 37.2 percent decline against the same period in 2020 with a total of 66,160 flights.