Athens airport posts record data in 2023
The year 2023 was a record year for the Athens International Airport (AIA) in terms of passengers, though it also made a strong recovery in all economic indicators, its administration said on Wednesday.
The presentation of results was the first after the company’s successful entry into the Athens Stock Exchange about a month ago.
Specifically, the airport’s chief executive officer, Ioannis Paraschis, said the following:
* During 2023, AIA passenger traffic reached 28.17 million passengers – a new historic high, surpassing by 10.2% the 2019 (pre-coronavirus) levels and by 24% the levels of 2022, while the recovery levels of European airports compared to 2019 are still behind by an average 5 percentage points.
* 85% of passengers in 2023 traveled for reasons of leisure and the remainder 15% for business. The leisure-related trips have proven the most resilient part of travel in relation to the professional trips, he noted.
* A 69% of passenger traffic at the AIA in 2023 related to travel to and from international destinations, and 31% to domestic ones.
* AIA served nearly 38% of all passenger traffic in Greece in 2023.
* In 2023, the airport had direct regular flights from Athens to 156 destination cities in 57 countries, served by 66 airlines, while there were 18 new itineraries added in the year.
* Airplane traffic totaled 241,605 in 2023, up 13.2% from 2022 and up 7.1% from 2019.
In economic returns for 2023, AIA officials said that total revenues increased by 126.8 million euros (up 26.6%) to come to €603.7 million in 2023, mainly attributed to a 24% increase in passenger traffic compared to 2022 and to dynamic growth of revenues from commercial activities.
Profits after taxes in 2023 were €231.5 million, up €63.5 million compared to the previous year, while the company proposed that a dividend be distributed to shareholders at €0.33 per share for 2023.
Athens-Shanghai
Also on Wednesday, Chinese carrier Juneyao Air announced to the media at an event in Athens the launch of a direct air service linking Athens International Airport with Shanghai’s Pudong as of April 2.
The service, the only one offering direct flights between the Greek capital and Shanghai this year, will run three times a week, using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
