Published on August 9, 2025 |
UK, Italy, France, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Spain, Turkey, and Hungary, on pinch Greece’s cardinal airports—Athens, Syros, and Volos—have each recorded awesome maturation successful rider postulation during nan first half of 2025, driving a robust betterment successful Europe’s aviation assemblage pinch Greece’s nationwide airdrome web achieving a notable 5.3 percent summation compared to nan aforesaid play past year.
Athens, Syros, and Volos Airports Drive Europe’s Air Travel Growth successful First Half of 2025
In nan first six months of 2025, respective Greek airports, including Athens, Syros, and Volos, distinguished themselves arsenic apical performers successful European rider postulation growth. This penetration comes from nan latest study published by Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe), which tracks airdrome postulation trends crossed nan continent.
Athens International Airport delivered a robust performance, achieving a 7.6 percent summation successful rider numbers compared to nan aforesaid play successful 2024. This maturation complaint matched that of Copenhagen Airport, reflecting nan beardown request for recreation to and from these important European hubs. However, Milan Malpensa led nan awesome airports successful Europe pinch an awesome 11.4 percent surge successful passengers, underscoring its rising value arsenic a continental gateway. Manchester Airport besides posted coagulated numbers pinch a 5.3 percent growth, while Paris Orly Airport recorded a 5 percent increase, illustrating a dependable betterment and maturation successful European aerial travel.
Beyond nan awesome airports, location airports successful Greece displayed exceptional momentum successful June 2025. Syros Island Airport (JSY) saw an bonzer surge successful rider numbers, soaring by 112.8 percent and much than doubling its postulation compared to nan erstwhile year. Likewise, Volos Airport (VOL) witnessed a important maturation of 51.1 percent, reflecting a increasing enthusiasm for Greece’s lesser-known recreation spots.Together, these location gains bespeak a broadening entreaty of Greek tourism, spreading beyond accepted hotspots to smaller islands and emerging locales.
Across nan country, Greece’s airdrome strategy knowledgeable a 5.3 percent summation successful rider numbers during nan first half of 2025 compared to nan corresponding play successful 2024. This maturation is simply a clear awesome of nan country’s expanding attractiveness arsenic a recreation destination, fueled by a operation of factors specified arsenic caller formation routes, enhanced connectivity, and increasing world tourism demand.
Broader Trends successful European Airport Traffic
On a continent-wide scale, rider postulation crossed European airports roseate by 4.5 percent during nan first half of 2025, compared pinch nan first six months of 2024. This dependable description was accordant crossed some quarters, reinforcing affirmative momentum successful aerial recreation contempt ongoing world economical challenges and geopolitical uncertainties.
The superior driver of this maturation was world travel, which roseate by 5.7 percent year-on-year. This contrasts pinch home travel, which remained mostly flat, showing only a flimsy 0.2 percent increase. The disparity indicates that cross-border tourism and business recreation are starring Europe’s aviation betterment and growth.
When benchmarked against pre-pandemic levels from nan first half of 2019, full rider volumes crossed Europe now guidelines 5.1 percent higher, signaling not only betterment but besides an description beyond erstwhile records.
Breaking down maturation by airdrome size reveals that ample and medium-sized airports knowledgeable nan strongest increases, pinch rider numbers climbing 5.4 percent connected average. Within this category, notable performers included Tel Aviv Airport, which saw a singular 27 percent jump successful rider traffic. Krakow followed pinch an 18.7 percent increase, Budapest grew by 15 percent, and Warsaw roseate by 13.2 percent. These figures item nan increasing value of Central and Eastern European hubs successful nan wider European aerial recreation ecosystem.
By comparison, awesome world hubs reported much humble gains of astir 3.3 percent. Among these, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport grew 11.5 percent, Rome Fiumicino 6.5 percent, Paris Charles de Gaulle 4.3 percent, Amsterdam Schiphol and Madrid 3 percent each, and London Heathrow showed a marginal 0.2 percent increase. The slower maturation successful these hubs whitethorn bespeak capacity constraints, accrued title from secondary airports, and shifting recreation patterns.
Smaller airports, defined arsenic those handling less than 1 cardinal passengers annually, recorded a 5.1 percent emergence successful traffic. However, these airports are still recovering, pinch postulation volumes remaining 32.9 percent beneath their pre-pandemic levels. This highlights nan uneven quality of aviation betterment crossed airdrome categories.
Regional Variations successful Airport Growth Across Europe
Analysis by region reveals chopped maturation patterns, pinch airports successful Southeast Europe outperforming their Northwest counterparts. Slovakia topped nan database pinch a singular 19.2 percent summation successful rider numbers. Poland, Hungary, Malta, and Cyprus followed closely, pinch maturation rates of 14.9 percent, 14.2 percent, 11.7 percent, and 10.8 percent respectively. These figures propose a beardown resurgence successful recreation request crossed Southeast European countries, driven successful portion by rising tourism, expanding economical activity, and expanded formation connections.
In contrast, Nordic and immoderate Western European countries specified arsenic Sweden, Estonia, Iceland, and Luxembourg showed minimal maturation aliases flimsy declines successful rider traffic. These subdued figures whitethorn beryllium linked to seasonal factors, economical headwinds, aliases marketplace saturation.
Among nan largest markets wrong nan European Union and associated countries (EU+), Italy led rider maturation pinch a 5.7 percent increase, supported by beardown home and world demand. Spain followed pinch a 4.5 percent rise. France, nan United Kingdom, and Germany reported much humble increases ranging from 2.3 to 3.6 percent, indicating a slower but dependable betterment successful immoderate of Europe’s biggest aviation markets.
Outside nan EU, respective countries demonstrated awesome growth. Moldova’s airports saw a melodramatic 49.2 percent emergence successful rider traffic, while Bosnia and Herzegovina grew by 31.1 percent. Israel maintained beardown momentum pinch a 27 percent increase. Kosovo and Georgia reported coagulated description s of 16.6 and 13.7 percent respectively. Conversely, Türkiye and Azerbaijan posted smaller gains, each somewhat supra 1 percent, reflecting much unchangeable aliases mature markets.
Outlook
The first half of 2025 has demonstrated robust maturation for airports successful Greece and crossed Europe, driven predominantly by world recreation and expanding location connectivity. While ample hubs proceed to retrieve astatine a dependable pace, galore location and emerging airports are experiencing accelerated growth, highlighting nan diversification of recreation request wrong Europe.
UK, Italy, France, Poland, Denmark, Malta, Spain, Turkey, Hungary, and Greece person each seen beardown rider maturation successful H1 2025, pinch Athens, Syros, and Volos airports starring Greece’s awesome 5.3 percent nationalist increase.
These trends propose a affirmative outlook for nan aviation assemblage arsenic caller routes and markets unfastened up, tourism rebounds, and rider assurance strengthens. Monitoring these developments will beryllium cardinal for stakeholders aiming to capitalize connected shifting rider flows and evolving recreation preferences crossed nan continent.