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Fraport Greece Announces Lower Airport Charges to Extend Greek Tourism Season
Posted On 23 Jun 2023
Thessaloniki Airport. Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)
Fraport Greece recently announced a significant subsidy on charges at the 14 Greek airports under its management, ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent.
According to the airport operator, the subsidy is an incentive to encourage airlines to start their flight operations earlier or even extend them beyond the peak season at the 14 airports under Fraport’s management.
“Extending the tourist season is a national objective. Since taking over the management of the 14 airports, promoting the destinations we serve in foreign markets and reducing seasonality have been our strategic priorities,” said George Vilos, the Executive Director, Commercial & Business Development of Fraport Greece.
The incentive will be effective from October 2023 and will cover the months of October, November, March 2024 and April 2024.
Passengers arriving at Mykonos Airport. Photo © Greek Travel Pages (GTP)
“In response to the demands of airlines and local communities, we have designed new development incentives to effectively support the national effort in attracting additional tourists during the months of low demand,” he added.
The initiative builds upon a program introduced by Fraport Greece in 2018. Still in effect, the program focuses on the introduction of new international routes during the winter months.
Fraport Greece handles the airports at three mainland gateways in Greece (Thessaloniki, Aktion, and Kavala) and on 11 Greek islands (Chania on Crete, Kefalonia, Kos, Mykonos, Lesvos, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos).
Not so long ago Fraport refused point blank to any agreement about reducing airport charges, when meeting with Ryan Air. Airports won’t be so busy in the out of season months so there should be issues with Infrastructure. Chania airport could certainly cope. City breaks to Crete in the Spring? Yes please.
I think Fraport and local communities must work to improve infrastructure and services around their airports. Yes they want more passengers but then lack of taxis (and even monster queues of 2hrs and more in apts like Kos) make really painful the experience of landing in a Greek island. Seasonal or temporary taxi licenses or bus services should be given otherwise Spain, Turkey and other destinations will win over Greece. It is not impossible. Some small islands have managed it.
Fraport should be urgently looking at car parking facilities at the island airports I live on Rhodes and it’s nigh on impossible to park in the main parking area at most times of the day. I took my friend up mid May for his return flight to the UK dropped him outside the departures at 8pm took me 40 min to find a parking place not very good for what you term an international airport
how about providing some parking in Corfu it’s one of the only airports I’ve ever been to where there is literally no parking.
also, the facilities for private jets and their passengers are very limited, there is no business class, first class lounge. These people are bringing large sums of money onto the island.