Air traffic in Greece in October 2025 once again reflected the strong momentum of Greek tourism toward the end of the season, confirming that the country is steadily expanding the window of its high-demand period. Data from 24 state airports, 14 Fraport Greece airports and Athens International Airport outline a period of significant growth, but also notable variations depending on the destination.
39 airports: Passenger traffic up 4.5 percent and aircraft movements up 3.8 percent in the ten-month period
At national level, the total passenger volume across the 39 airports —Athens International Airport, those managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, and those operated by Fraport— reached 76,238,091 in the first ten months of 2025, marking a 4.5 percent increase from 2024. Correspondingly, aircraft movements reached 570,508, up 3.8 percent. October traffic exceeded 8 million passengers, compared to 7.671 million last year.
This increase is attributed both to rising international demand and to the partial extension of the tourism season, with many airlines maintaining or even increasing their connections through the end of October.
The Civil Aviation Authority recorded a 6.6 percent increase across its network of 24 state airports for January–October 2025. A total of 12,181,144 passengers were handled, compared with 11,422,374 in the same period last year, confirming the steady strengthening of regional air connectivity.
Fraport Greece: Steady growth with 3.5 million passengers
The 14 airports managed by Fraport Greece showed positive performance in October 2025, with passenger traffic increasing by 3.7 percent and reaching 3.5 million. This growth came mainly from regional hubs with increased demand, such as Thessaloniki, Corfu and Chania, confirming the momentum of Greek tourism even at the end of the summer season.
Exceptions were Mykonos and Santorini, where declines were recorded.
Athens: Stable growth driven by international traffic
Athens International Airport also recorded an upward trend in October 2025, with passenger traffic reaching 3.13 million, up 4 percent compared with October 2024. International traffic was the main driver of growth, rising 6.3 percent, while domestic demand declined slightly by 1.6 percent.
In the January–October period, the airport handled 29.33 million passengers, showing a 6.4 percent increase. Growth was recorded both on international routes, which rose by 8.3 percent, and domestic routes, which saw a mild 1.8 percent increase.
There was also a significant increase in the number of flights, which reached 244,500 in the ten-month period, up 5.4 percent compared with 2024. International flights increased by 8.6 percent, reflecting strong demand from foreign markets, while domestic flights rose by 0.9 percent.
The overall picture for Athens Airport confirms the continuous strengthening of its international footprint, with the capital remaining the country’s primary aviation hub and one of the most dynamic bases in Southeastern Europe.
All-time record in Heraklion
The airport that clearly dominated this year’s picture was Heraklion “Nikos Kazantzakis”, which achieved a historic record: 1,172,533 passengers in October (+10 percent year-on-year) and 9,595,298 passengers in the ten-month period, surpassing the total of 2024 already by October.
This is the highest performance in the airport’s history, effectively placing it among major regional hubs at levels comparable with European mid-size hubs.
Strong rebound in Thessaloniki
Macedonia Airport remains one of the most dynamic points on the Greek aviation map. In October, traffic increased by 9.7 percent, with an additional 67,018 passengers. International arrivals and departures rose 13.1 percent, reaching 534,628 passengers. Domestic traffic increased 2.4 percent.
In the ten-month period, Thessaloniki reached 6.87 million passengers (+7.9 percent), with explosive growth in international flows (+9.9 percent).
This performance is directly linked to the strategic expansion of airlines. Specifically, Aegean is adding new direct connections to Milos, Zakynthos, Prague, Warsaw, Istanbul and Dubrovnik, reaching a total of 43 destinations from/to Thessaloniki. Available seats rise to 3.7 million in 2026 (from 2.3 million in 2013).
SKY Express is launching Thessaloniki–Dusseldorf three times a week. Air Serbia adds connections to Belgrade, EasyJet relaunches its Berlin route and reinforces its route to Chisinau, while from 2026 it will add new connections from Amsterdam and Bristol. SkyUp Airlines will also enhance the Chisinau–Thessaloniki connection.
Thessaloniki is in full internationalization mode, having fully recovered from the losses caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
The declines
In contrast, Mykonos declined by 10.7 percent in October, affected by reduced demand both from the domestic market and from the United Kingdom. However, it managed to close the ten-month period with a relatively mild loss of -1.9 percent.
At the same time, Santorini recorded a 19.3 percent drop and lost about 56,000 passengers compared with last October. After a more balanced picture during the summer season, the downward trend returned, widening the island’s negative performance, which closed the ten-month period with losses of -16.2 percent.
