Greece’s Goldair opening up to the Indian market

2022 was a growth year for Goldair, which restarted engines with sparks mainly from the tourism rally in the second half of the year and entered new markets such as India.

The revival of the large investment in Thriasio I, which has been pending for more than a decade, opens new horizons for the Greek Group, which also acquires new storage areas in Heraklion and Aspropyrgos. By investing in its human resources, after two unprecedented years marked by the pandemic crisis, Goldair is putting forward the implementation of its development plan.

In the field of ground handling, demand exceeded in the second half of the year even the levels of 2019. The rapid recovery of Greek tourism, as recorded in the traffic of the regional airports, which broke records, led to the recovery of Goldair Handling. The company reached 91% of flights in 2019, while presenting an increase of 33% compared to 2021.

Overseas expansion and fleet renewal

The company, which is already active in the markets of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Switzerland, put 2022 forward for its development planning. A new stop on her route is India. He founded Goldair India, which in collaboration with the Indian firm LAS Ground Force, went on to form Goldair-LAS. Through tender processes, the company has started operations at two airports in the country, Bagdogra and Udaipur, and is already participating in other tenders to expand its network in India.

Within 2022, Goldair Handling has succeeded in renewing its operating license at “Eleftherios Venizelos” for the next 7 years, following an international competitive process, in the categories of aircraft handling on the runway, baggage handling, cargo and mail handling as well as disabled passenger handling.

With the wind of this development, it has activated its investment plan, regarding the renewal of its fleet, with an emphasis on green energy, which will gradually be extended to the regional airports.

The effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Regarding foreign markets where it operates, the picture of 2022 was mixed, mainly due to the extension of the war in Ukraine. In Bulgaria the resumption of flights was moderate, remaining at -32% of 2019, while the two seasonal Black Sea destinations, Burgas and Varna, were also negatively affected. Of course, in relation to 2021, traffic showed an increase of 47%.

A similar picture was observed in the Cypriot market, which was drastically affected by the limitation of demand from Russia. Flights increased by 59%, compared to 2021, however the two destinations of the island, Larnaca and Paphos, recovered only 70% of 2019. Finally, in Zurich, the service of disabled passengers returned to the levels of 2019, mainly during the second half of the year.

Goldair invests in tourism

Goldair SA signed new cooperation contracts, further expanding its clientele in terms of airline representation. This is an important year for the company’s history, since it started to represent airlines outside of Greece and in the Cyprus market.

The performance of the Group’s new travel agency, Travellair, which in 2022 significantly increased its turnover, was particularly positive, operating mainly in the area of VIP services and serving large corporate clients. The company thus closed its first complete financial cycle with a positive result, creating a climate of optimism for the coming years and its future course.

New warehouse in the Heraklion Industrial Park

The passing of the amended Triasio I concession contract in the Greek Parliament last November brought the project out of a four-year freeze. It is an investment of approximately 160 million euros in the 59 hectares of the Thriasio Field, which by the end of 2024 will add 235,000 square meters to Attica warehousing and will create 3,000 new jobs.

The green light of the Parliament marked the start of the construction project of the largest freight center in Greece and one of the largest in the European Union, which will highlight our country as a combined transport and storage hub. It will be able to serve a wide range of international and European clientele with growing and special requirements, making Greece a pole of attraction for complex activities in the transport sector.

With new cargo management warehouses in the Heraklion Industrial Park, on Crete, with an area of 4,000 sq.m., and an additional 14,000 sq.m. in the area of Aspropyrgos, the activity of Goldair Cargo will be expanded in 2023. The company that operates in the field of transportation and logistics services handled more shipments and handled an increased volume of cargo in 2022. And all this, despite the reduced availability of means of transport due to the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the great lack of drivers that is plaguing Europe.

It has also managed to maintain its profitability despite the large increase in fuel and energy costs, applying prudent management, utilizing tools such as digitization and e-sales, with the main aim of maintaining high-level services and the smooth operation of the supply chain.

Stagnation was observed in the rail sector for Rail Cargo Logistics Goldair. But although the railway project remained stagnant, due to the limited capacity in the railway network, the company improved its financial results, mainly thanks to the logistics sector. According to company executives, “the exorbitant increase in operating and network access costs” is holding back the growth of the rail freight market.