Greece Only EU Country with Increase in Commercial Flights in June

Athens International Airport. Photo source: Shutterstock

Greece is the only country in the European Union that recorded an increase in commercial flights in June, compared to the same month in 2019, according to recent data released by Eurostat.

Citing data by Eurocontrol, a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation, Eurostat said that commercial flights in the EU last month decreased by 16 percent compared with June 2019.

“Flights decreased in all but one Member State in June 2022. Only increase in Greece (+1 percent compared with June 2019),” Eurostat said on Twitter.

According to the data, flights decreased most in Slovenia (-40 percent).

“This did not happen by chance,” Greek Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias said while commenting on the data on Thursday.

“This is the pinnacle of the collective work and our proper preparation during the whole previous period,” the minister said in an interview on OPEN TV.

Month by month Greece’s air traffic is on the up, with data showing that the country is making a comeback as a post-Covid-19 international tourist destination.

Last week, Eurocontrol said Greece presented a 6 percent increase in flights in the June 30 – July 6 period (compared with the previous week) and presented a 5 percent rise compared to the corresponding week in 2019.