An increase in traffic is also recorded at regional airports
The Minister of Tourism referred to the data that show the dynamic trajectory of recovery of Greek tourism, Vassilis Kikiliasin his greeting at the international conference “Aviation Event” held at the Athens Metropolitan Expo.
As the Minister of Tourism underlined, despite the new global crises and the fact that important tourist markets – such as Russia due to the war and China due to Covid-19 – are absent this year, the traffic at the Athens International Airport, as well as at the country’s largest airports is already almost at the level of 2019. “I am very happy to see that the messages so far are very positive. According to the latest data, in June, traffic at “Eleftherios Venizelos” has returned to almost 94% compared to the levels of the same month of 2019 and flights to 97%. The performance at all 14 Fraport regional airports is also excellent. At the same time, the data of the Bank of Greece for April, show an increase of 7.5% compared to April 2019 in terms of travel traffic, while we are waiting for the data of May to be announced “, pointed out Mr. Kikilias .
The Minister of Tourism mentioned the turmoil in the aviation sector across Europe in the post-Covid era, as many workers – and in the travel industry – were forced to turn to other industries during the more than two years of this unprecedented global health crisis. “The aviation industry is one of those hit hard by the pandemic crisis. But it is also the industry that has recovered much faster than expected from the coronavirus lockdowns, resulting in the images we see today, with significant delays at Europe’s largest airports due to staff shortages. We must be careful about change. And we must take immediate action on issues that we know we will address in the future. During the pandemic, Greece proved that it can show the necessary flexibility, take innovative initiatives and achieve rapid results. “In exactly the same context, we are moving in the post-Covid era,” he noted.
Mr. Kikilias stressed the importance of targeted interventions undertaken since the beginning of the year by the Ministry of Tourism to extend the tourist season and the opening of new destinations, a fact which – as he said – has already begun to bear fruit. “We are very pleased to see that the tourist arrivals in our country started very early this year and show that they will have a special dynamic until the end of November and the beginning of December”noting the strategic partnership developed with the US and the opening attempt to new markets such as India, South Korea and Latin America.
Finally, the Minister of Tourism referred to everything that is provided for the aviation sector in the European “Green Deal”, under the Commission’s “Fit for 55” plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 55% by 2030. “The transition to a sustainable economy and green growth action is indeed a top priority,” Kikilias, pointing out, however, that the conditions relating to the imposition of environmental charges on flights within the European Union should not work to the detriment of European citizens. “The Commission ‘s original proposals pose a serious risk to Europe’ s aviation industry – and therefore to the European tourism product – as they increase costs for the traveler, thus giving airlines and tourists a significant ‘advantage’. destinations outside the European Union, which will not be bound by these rules. And this is something that we should take seriously in the discussion that is taking place at the moment, as well as in our final decisions “, concluded Mr. Kikilias.
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