August, the landmark month for Greek tourism, once again confirmed its role as the peak travel period at the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece. Passenger traffic rose by 4% compared to last year, with more than 6.78 million travelers passing through the airports in just one month. However, behind the overall growth, trends varied significantly from airport to airport, reflecting shifting balances on Greece’s tourism map.
August: the season’s peak
The strongest performance came from Kavala airport, which nearly doubled its domestic traffic (+94.1%), pushing its total result up by 11.2%. Significant growth was also recorded in Chania (+6.7%), Corfu (+5.3%), and Thessaloniki (+9%), with the Macedonian capital—also serving as a gateway to Halkidiki—welcoming over 910,000 passengers in a single month. Positive results were also seen in Rhodes (+4.8%), Kos (+3.0%), Skiathos (+9.6%), and Mytilene (+7.6%).
In contrast, Mykonos and Santorini registered losses. Mykonos dropped 7% in domestic traffic and remained almost flat overall (+0.2%), while Santorini posted the steepest decline, with -9.4% fewer passengers compared to August 2024. Kefalonia also slipped slightly (-0.6%).
January–August: a positive overall picture
Over the first eight months of the year, Fraport Greece recorded a total of 26.3 million passengers, an increase of 2.6% compared to the same period in 2024. Thessaloniki stood out with growth of 7.6%, surpassing 5.27 million passengers and confirming its role as the country’s second-largest airport. Chania (+4.7%), Corfu (+4.8%), Kos (+2.5%), Mytilene (+3.5%), and Skiathos (+6.6%) also moved upward.
By contrast, Santorini suffered a dramatic drop (-16%), losing more than 329,000 passengers compared to last year. Mykonos also posted losses (-0.9%), reinforcing the sense of fatigue in Greece’s two most saturated island destinations.
Overall, airports in Cluster A (Thessaloniki, Chania, Corfu, Zakynthos, Aktio, Kefalonia, Kavala) grew by 5.5%, while airports in Cluster B (Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos, Santorini, Skiathos, Samos, Mytilene) recorded a decline of 1%. This divergence shows that more “mature” and commercial destinations are under greater pressure, while regions with more room for growth—such as Crete, Thessaloniki, and the Ionian Islands—continue to gain market share.
Flights: more, but unevenly spread
In August, a total of 48,450 flights were operated, up 2.8% year-on-year. Over the January–August period, flights increased by 1.8%, exceeding 199,800. Growth was driven mainly by Thessaloniki (+6.2% flights year-to-date), while Santorini (-11.8%) and Mykonos (-4.4%) posted significant losses.
The message for tourism
The picture at Fraport’s airports confirms that this year’s season is moving in a positive direction overall, but with sharp differences depending on destination. Strong demand for Crete, the Ionian Islands, and Northern Greece—often fueled by domestic connections serving long-haul passengers transiting through Athens—has acted as a counterweight to losses at the over-saturated islands of Mykonos and Santorini.
The challenge going forward is twofold: managing overtourism pressures in the Cyclades islands while harnessing the momentum in emerging destinations that show potential for further growth.
