Tourism is on the rise, with planes filling up for all destinations. Demand for air travel continues to rise and airlines are facing staffing issues.
According to IATA data, air carriers in Europe in March saw a 38.5% increase in traffic compared to March 2022, with capacity increasing by 27%.
The picture in Greece
In Greece, after a very good performance in March where international air arrivals increased by 81.1%, April also seems to have gone well.
The first figures come from the international airport of Heraklion, where 202,047 passengers arrived from abroad, a number increased by 10.85% compared to April 2022 (182,274 international passengers). Domestic traffic performed even better, with an increase of 20.55%, with 61,408 passengers landing at Heraklion airport, compared to 50,941 passengers last April.
But Athens airport also recorded a 29.8% increase in foreign arrivals in April compared to April last year, with 1,476,030 passengers landing at “Eleftherios Venizelos”. Compared to April 2019, the increase reached 4.4%. In the first four months of the year, 4,526,242 passengers arrived in Athens from abroad (+54.7% compared to 2022 and +3.4% compared to 2019).
It should be noted that throughout Greece, for April, more than 1.6 million air seats were scheduled from abroad, coming from more than 50 countries from all over the world. Apart from Athens and Heraklion, the scheduled air seats for Thessaloniki were 215,000, for Chania 65,000, for Rhodes 135,000, for Kos over 30,000, for Corfu more than 60,000, for Santorini over 36,000 and for in Mykonos about 15,000.
The demand
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced strong growth in global demand for air travel for March 2023, up 52.4% compared to March 2022, reaching 88% of levels in the same month of 2019.
“The first quarter of the calendar year closed with strong demand for air travel. Domestic travel has been close to pre-pandemic levels for months. For international travel, two key benchmarks were at the top. First, demand increased by 3.5 percentage points compared to the previous month’s growth, reaching 81.6% of pre-COVID levels. This led to a near-tripling of demand for Asia-Pacific carriers as China’s resurgence took hold. And performance is improving as international load factors reached 81.3%. More importantly, ticket sales for both domestic and international travel indicate that strong growth will continue into the peak of the Northern Hemisphere summer season,” said Willie Walsh, IATA Director General.
However, Mr Walsh noted that carrier capacity is falling short of demand, attributing part of this shortfall to labor shortages, delays in the delivery of new aircraft and strike action, for example by air traffic controllers in Europe.
Latest News
Europeche: Greek Apricot Production Recovers
Europeche forecasts the production will bounce back despite a slight decrease in varieties attributed to high winter temperatures
Bank of Greece (BoG): Business-Household Deposits Up 1,675bln in March 2024
In March 2024, the monthly net flow of credit to the general government was negative by 469 million euros
FT: Greece’s Economic Rebound a Balance of Growth and Poverty
Eurostat data revealed a significant 10.8% drop in Greek public debt relative to GDP in 2023, alongside a 2% economic expansion, outpacing Germany's performance.
Lavrio Port Authority Next Up for Privatization
A deadline for the submission of expressions of interest is May 14, 2024
Eurostat: Greece Records Largest Drop in Natural Gas Prices in 2nd Half of 2023
The price of electricity and natural gas in Europe was down following a substantial surge that began before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and peaked in 2022
GEK TERNA Still Considers Leveraging Concessions Portfolio as Financial Tool
President and CEO of Gek Terna George Peristeris explained the company's plans on Tuesday on the sidelines of the inauguration of sections of Greece's E65 highway
NielsenIQ: 3% Supermarket Revenue Increase in Q1
Private label products are gaining traction, comprising 25.4% of shopping basket shares, up from 24.7%
Store Hours Change Today in Observation of Orthodox Easter
The President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce hopes the Easter period will provide a much-needed boost to retail traffic in the capital
Athens-area Mass Transit Systems Set to Finally Install Contact-less Fare Payment
Paying fares via bank cards, smartphones and smartwatches in all mass transit systems in the Greek capital, namely, buses, trolleys, the metro and tram lines, is scheduled by the end of the year
Council of State Rejects Motion Against Thessaloniki Motorway Project
The motion was filed earlier this month by three local citizens’ and environmental groups and generated a high court decision for a temporary stay in construction