Routes -Europe 2023: Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos airport is first again

At this year’s resumption – after the interruption of the pandemic – of the largest annual meeting of the European aviation industry “Routes Europe 2023” held in Łódź, Poland, Athens Airport again won first place for its marketing strategy and actions to the development of the Athens market, in the category of more than 20 million passengers.

The Routes Awards are unique in that the voting and decision process rests solely with the airlines, rewarding excellence in aviation development worldwide. In the same category as the Athens airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Dubai International Airport, iGA – Istanbul Airport and Rome Fiumicino were candidates for distinction.

This year’s nomination focused on the significant achievements of the Athens market: in 2022, AIA recorded the third best passenger traffic performance recording a recovery of 84.1% compared to 2021, offering 29 million air seats (+50%) , while also in the first quarter of 2023, the upward trend in traffic is spectacular (+60% compared to the first quarter of 2022 where some travel restrictions were still in place, or +2.4% compared to the corresponding period in 2019) . The airport has also invested significantly in sustainability and growth incentives for airlines, which have almost all benefited from these incentives. In terms of air network development, Athens welcomed 7 new destinations and launched 39 new flights in 2022. For 2023, 3 new airlines, 13 new destinations and 14 new additions to already existing destinations have been added so far.