Athens International Airport: 7.2 million passengers in the 1st semester of 2010

Athens International Airport: 7.2 million passengers in the 1st semester of 2010

For the period January - June, Athens International Airport traffic remained at the corresponding 2009 levels (+0.1%, 7.2 million passengers), despite a 3.5% drop in flights mainly attributed to the negative second quarter of the year. This satisfactory result amid the ongoing adverse conditions, maintained Athens International Airport slightly above the major European airports' performance both in terms of passengers (European average at -0.3%), as well as flights (European average at -3.8%).

Analytically, in the first six months of 2010, international passenger traffic posted a small increase (+0.4%, 4.5 million passengers) on a year-to-year basis, while the domestic sector dropped slightly by 0.4% (2.8 million passengers). This marginal variation was achieved despite both markets experiencing a drop during the second quarter - especially the domestic sector. As per geographical regions, Middle East posted a significant rise (+18%), followed by Asia (+4%).