Athens at a Cruising Altitude

Passenger traffic at Athens International Airport is increasing further, surpassing 30mio Passengers in the first 10 months of 2026, resulting in 1.2mio additional Passengers to 2025 so far!

2025 was  Athens’ previous record year in Passenger traffic, with 34mio round-trip Passengers and… 2026 is growing further by 4.1%!!!

Despite the challenging geopolitical environment in 2026 and increased energy costs, demand for travel to Athens remains strong!

With the Summer season now concluded, again Athens delivered 5 months with over 3mio PAX and for the first time ever in its history, passenger traffic surpassed 4mio passengers in August 2026.

For the period January to October 2026, Domestic traffic increased by 3.9% to the same period in 2025, while International traffic has been  the main driver of Growth, with +4.1% to 2025. Growth in International traffic, contributed by 73% to the total additional PAX in 2026 so far. Share of International traffic at 72%, during the first 10 months of 2026.

Italy is Athens largest International country market in Direct passenger traffic, already above the 2mio mark in the first 10 months of 2026, followed by Germany. The United Kingdom is now in the 3rd place, with France and the Unitd States of America in the 4th and 5th places. In terms of growth to Jan-Oct 2025, Poland is the absolute champion with a 46% growth, followed by Egypt and Romania. Denmark and Albania are ranking 4 and 5 respectively in growth.

Intercontinental, Long–Haul markets for Athens grew further this year with +6.3% in Jan-Oct 2026, with China achieving the strongest growth with 27% to Jan-Oct 2025. Athens New Routes in 2026, delivered a total of 207 thousand round-trip New PAX in the first 10 months of 2026, with Dallas(DFW) achieving the strongest volume of PAX, even as a seasonal operation.

Furthermore, based on IATA AirportIS, Athens O&D traffic for the period January to September increased by 3.9% compared to the same period in 2025, with non-stop O&D traffic increasing by 4.9%, demonstrating the attractiveness of Athens, while Connecting/Indirect O&D traffic slightly decreased by 2.1%, mainly affected by the situation in the Gulf region. In addition, Connecting traffic via Athens marginally decreased for the same period, by 1.2% to 2025.

As 2026 nears its end, Athens is looking forward to a 2027 which is challenging and promising at the same time! Geopolitical unrest continues around the world, as well as high energy costs and capacity limitations, but, so far, there are certain very promising  developments for Athens in the new year.

*NEW* Airlines, *NEW* Destinations and an Airport Expansion Program well under way! Stay Tuned!