The first flight-planning data for 2026, obtained exclusively by TornosNEWS from the aviation data company Cirium, highlights the strong position of the UK market in Greek tourism, reflecting the steady demand of British travelers for Greece.
The data for the first ten months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025 shows that the number of flights from the United Kingdom to seven top Greek tourist destinations presents a small increase, with a slight decline in the number of scheduled seats.
This picture is based on data drawn from the flight and seat schedules displayed in airline systems up to October 2025, leaving room for further additions for 2026 until the end of the current year.
Nevertheless, Cirium’s data shows that British interest in the Greek season remains strong, with a peak in flights in August, July and September, and strengthening of the shoulder months.
At the same time, there is a shift in the allocation of airline seats from Athens to island destinations, with increases in Heraklion, Kos, Zakynthos and Thessaloniki compared with the first ten months of 2025.
24,400 flights to 7 top Greek destinations
In total, the number of flights to seven top Greek destinations (Athens, Heraklion, Corfu, Kos, Rhodes, Thessaloniki, Zakynthos) for the first ten months of 2026 amounts to 24,400 compared with 24,127 in the same period of 2025, an increase of 273 flights or 1.13 percent.
This rise is due to the increase in flights from the United Kingdom to popular island destinations, with demand appearing, according to current data, to be shifting to regional airports in 2026.
According to Cirium’s scheduled flight data up to October 2025, Athens gathers the highest number of scheduled flights for the first ten months of 2026 (including scheduled flights and regularly programmed charters that appear in airline systems, but not special charters), amounting to 5,462 compared with 5,583 this year, meaning 121 fewer flights than in the first ten months of 2025.
Rhodes follows with 59 more flights than last year, at 4,681 compared with 4,622 this year; Corfu with 15 more flights (4,390 versus 4,375 in the previous ten-month period); and Heraklion with 55 more flights (3,788 versus 3,733 this year).
In terms of total number of flights, Kos follows with 159 more flights than last year (2,383 versus 2,224 in the 2025 ten-month period), Zakynthos with 18 more flights (2,201 versus 2,182 this year), and Thessaloniki with 87 more flights than this year (1,495 versus 1,408 in the 2025 ten-month period).
August, July and September remain the peak of the season
The seasonality pattern remains the same as in 2025, with August, July and September being the three peak months for the UK market.
The highest number of flights in 2026 to the seven Greek destinations is recorded in August (4,008 compared with 3,975 in August 2025), followed by July (4,006 compared with 3,935 this year), September (3,795 versus 3,683 in 2025), June (3,778 versus 3,607 in 2025) and May (3,303 versus 3,158 this year).
For the shoulder months, October, although it remains a strong month for the UK market, loses ground in the first ten months of 2026 with 545 fewer flights to the seven Greek destinations compared with the same month in 2025 (2,286 versus 2,831 this year). In contrast, April strengthens by +134 flights (1,616 versus 1,482 in 2025) and March by +77 flights (646 versus 569).
4.75 million airline seats in the first ten months of 2026
The number of airline seats for the first ten months of 2026 (scheduled airline seats) to the seven Greek destinations compared with the same period in 2025 shows a decrease of 5,809 seats and stands at 4.75 million, according to Cirium data up to October 2025.
At the Athens hub, the number of seats from the UK market stands at 1.075 million compared with 1.098 million in the first ten months of 2025, a loss of 23,579 seats.
The next largest airport in Greece for the UK market, Rhodes, records 910,416 scheduled airline seats for the first ten months of 2026, compared with 920,198 in the same period of 2025, a decrease of 9,782 seats; and in Corfu, seats amount to 840,662, down by 8,318 compared with the first ten months of 2025.
In contrast, scheduled seats for Heraklion, Kos, Zakynthos and Thessaloniki show increases. In Heraklion they amount to 740,956, up by 2,192 seats compared with this year’s ten-month period; in Kos they stand at 464,568, up by 16,130 seats; in Zakynthos they rise to 440,255, up by 7,735 seats; and in Thessaloniki 278,277 scheduled seats are recorded, up by 9,813 seats.
