Aegean boosts passenger numbers
Aegean Airlines passenger traffic climbed to new heights last month thanks to the targeted offers made by the carrier in response to the decline in demand due to the introduction of capital controls.
Greece’s biggest airline carried 19 percent more travelers in July than a year earlier, adding 240,000 passengers to reach 1.473 million.
International flights again provided the greatest lift for the company, posting an increase of 28 percent in traffic from the carrier’s nine hubs around the country. Athens recorded the highest annual growth, amounting to 37 percent, as it received 808,450 more passengers last month than in July 2014.
Traffic to Iraklio, Crete, grew 30 percent and to Rhodes 15 percent. The airline views these two increases as particularly positive, as the overall market recorded a decline in arrivals to the two destinations, mainly due to the drop in tourism from Russia.
“Aegean is trying with all its might to support the country in this difficult period and to maintain its growth momentum. The challenges and difficulties are huge, but tourism could once again be a growth factor and should be supported. Aegean has managed to increase traffic to the country and domestic tourism to small islands that need it,” said Dimitris Gerogiannis, the carrier’s managing director.