Greek airline Aegean on Friday announced that it carried 4.4 million passengers during the second quarter of 2024, recording an 8 per cent increase in passenger traffic.
Furthermore, it reached a total of 7.3 million passengers during the first half of the year, which marks a 9 per cent increase compared to last year.
In the second quarter of the year, Aegean offered 5.4 million seats, 9 per cent more than in 2023. Additionally, for the whole year, the airline will offer more than 19.8 million seats, nearly 6 per cent more than the previous year.
The airline also pointed out that the balanced growth in passenger traffic was observed on both the domestic and the international networks.
This growth, the airline explained, stems from the increased traffic at the Athens International Airport, already established as a key hub for international long-haul flights arriving from non-EU markets.
Moreover, this growth is boosted by the increased connectivity between Greece and other main European hubs with similar activity (London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Dubai), which serve as connecting points with island destinations via the Aegean domestic network.
Aegean’s international passenger traffic to and from Athens, which achieved a 13 per cent increase, builds upon the company’s decision to further invest in increased capacity and frequencies to and from European hubs and key international markets, such as Germany, the UK, Cyprus, Turkey, the Gulf area, and the Baltics.
Additionally, passenger traffic to and from Thessaloniki ‘Makedonia’ Airport also increased by 12 per cent during the second quarter, as more than 500,000 passengers were carried via Aegean’s international network during the first half of 2024.
The airline said that this demonstrates that Thessaloniki is steadily growing into a year-round destination.
In terms of service enhancement, Aegean increased frequencies on flights to and from London, Heathrow (from three to four daily flights), to and from Istanbul (up to four daily flights), Paris, Rome, Frankfurt (from and to Athens, from and to Thessaloniki) and Cyprus.
Notably, the company’s new business lounge at Larnaca International Airport opened its gates just a few days ago.
Besides, weekly flights to and from Munich, Berlin, Vienna, and Madrid were also added. In June, Aegean commenced three new direct international routes connecting Athens with Vilnius, Palermo, and Sarajevo.
Two new domestic direct routes were also inaugurated, connecting Thessaloniki with Naxos and Heraklion with Kalamata.