Greek Airports Dealing Effectively With Delays

Greek airports appear to be handling delays effectively given the situation across Europe and the world after airports worldwide dismissed thousands of employees during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a report in Greek daily Kathimerini, Greek airports are seeing fewer delays compared to other European airports.

Indicatively, according to report in Forbes, the worst airports for delays and cancellations in early July in Europe were: Brussels Airport with 72 percent delayed flights and 2.5 percent canceled, Frankfurt International Airport (68 percent delayed, 7.8 percent canceled), Eindhoven Airport (67 percent delayed, 1.8 percent canceled), Luton Airport (UK, 66 percent delayed, 2.7 percent canceled), Liszt Ferenc International Airport (Hungary, 65 percent delayed, 2.1 percent canceled), Lisbon Airport (Portugal, 65 percent delayed, 4.8 percent canceled), Charles De Gaulle Airport (France, 62 percent delayed, 3.1 percent canceled), Schiphol Airport (Netherlands, 61 percent delayed, 5.2 percent canceled), Cote D’Azur Airport (France, 60 percent delayed, 3.4 percent canceled), Gatwick Airport (UK, 59 percent delayed, 1.4 percent canceled).

 In Greece, according to the Transport Ministry, 53 percent of flights at AIA arrived on time. Of the remaining 47 percent, 80 percent was due to delays from abroad (of the total 9,650 flights in June, 4,520 were delayed).

Based on the same data, private airlines account for 20 percent of delays at the country’s airports. Kathimerini notes that delays at Greek airports are not due to air traffic in Greece.

Among others, earlier in May, Greece’s Air Traffic Controllers Association voted in favor of a series of measures aimed at relieving air traffic from impending delays. The agreement foresaw the increase in working hours and shifts at high-traffic airports such as those in Athens, Mykonos, Santorini.

Greek PM: We show that we are a well-organized country

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (right) with Athens International Airport (AIA) CEO Yiannis Paraschis during his recent visit to Athens Airport.

“The most important thing is that we don’t have the scenes of suffering that other European airports have and this contributes significantly to the visitor experience, whether on arrival or departure, which reflects a well-organized country,” said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during an inspection visit to Eastern Attica.

Athens International Airport (AIA) CEO Yiannis Paraschis informed the Greek PM that – unlike many large airports in Europe and North America – Athens Airport is not facing problems relating to lack of employees thanks to the proper management of its staff during the pandemic and the support from the state through employment protection programs such as the “Syn-ergasia” job retention scheme.

Meanwhile, the best airports in terms of delays and cancellations in the first week of July, according to Hopper as cited by Bloomberg were:

Bergamo/Orio al Serio Airport (Italy), Gran Canaria Airport (Spain), Otopeni International Airport (Romania), Dublin International Airport (Ireland), Fontanarossa Airport (Italy), Adolfo Suarez-Barajas Airport (Madrid), Alicante Airport (Spain), Marseille Airport and Orly Field (France),  Malaga Airport (Spain).