Routes Europe 2023 Awards: Airlines Honor Athens Airport for Marketing Excellence
Athens International Airport (AIA) once again scooped the award in the over 20 million passengers category of the Europe edition of the Routes 2023 Marketing Awards that were announced recently in Lodz, Poland.
Returning for the first time since 2019, the Routes Europe 2023 Awards celebrated excellence in airport and destination marketing. The voting and decision process rests solely with airlines, rewarding excellence in aviation marketing strategy and development worldwide.
“We are truly excited with the spectacular first place in the highly competitive Routes Europe awards, and we feel motivated to continue working hard to further enhance the connectivity of our airport and our city,” AIA Director of Communications & Marketing Ioanna Papadopoulou said.
Athens Airport was voted first for its airline & destination marketing actions and strategy, in the competitive category of airports over 20 million passengers. Shortlisted in the same category with AIA were the airports of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Dubai International Airport, iGA – Istanbul Airport και Rome Fiumicino.
“We feel deeply honoured, as this is a distinction that comes directly from the airlines, recognizing on the one hand our continuous, developmental actions which took place during the restart of our industry and our market, and on the other hand rewarding our strategy and our actions for the promotion and their development in the Athenian market,” Papadopoulou said.
Athens International Airport’s submission this year focused on the important achievements and developments at the Athens market: In 2022, Athens airport achieved its best third year ever in passenger traffic performance with a significant increase of 84.1 percent compared to 2021. The airport also witnessed a substantial capacity expansion, reaching 29 million seats, a 50 percent rise compared to the previous year. The strong growth trend continued into the first quarter of 2023, with a 60 percent increase in traffic compared to Q1 2022.
Moreover, AIA has invested 23 million euros in sustainability and developmental incentives, benefiting almost all its airlines. In terms of expansion, Athens welcomed five new airlines, introduced seven new destinations, and launched 39 new services in 2022. In 2023, three new airlines, 13 new destinations, and 14 new services have been added at the airport’s network.
“On behalf of the whole team, I would like to warmly thank the airlines for their vote and for the excellent cooperation and of course a warm thank you to my colleagues in the airline marketing team for a truly professional effort with an excellent result!,” Papadopoulou added.
Taking place during the Routes Europe networking event, the most important “meeting point” between airports and airlines, the Routes Europe Marketing Awards are widely regarded as the most valuable awards in the industry.
The Routes Europe 2023 event united decision-makers from airlines, airports, destinations and aviation stakeholders that are invested in the future of European air connectivity.