From June 7, the automatic system of tilting bars will be put into operation in the road access sections of the departures and arrivals of the Athens International Airport (ADA), in order to avoid overcrowding due to vehicle parking.

Therefore, the stay of vehicles for the purpose of disembarking/boarding passengers, at Arrivals and Departures will be free of charge for 10 minutes. According to the announcement of the airport “El. Venizelos”, the project in question has now reached its completion, it was designed with a view to the safety, orderly and environmentally and socially responsible use of the road sections intended exclusively for short-term vehicle stops for the purpose of disembarking/boarding passengers, at Arrivals and in Departures.

“With the aim of avoiding congestion and illegal parking, the project was carried out to ensure the level of service for travelers and drivers and the good image befitting the main gateway to Athens and departure from our city and country.
The interventions are an important and imperative improvement from this summer and take into account the capacity needs and the increase in passenger traffic of the airport, which already exceeds the levels of 2019″ is pointed out in the relevant announcement of the AIA.

What changes in “El. Venizelos”

The airport now has a new configuration of entrances and exits on the road access sections of the departures and arrivals – where of course the provisions of the K.O.K. will apply. – and which will be controlled with an automatic system of tilting bars, with a crossing, stopping and exiting time of 10 minutes.

Crossing will be easy and comfortable, with a very simple process that will regulate traffic and stop for a few minutes in specially designed spaces, preventing illegal parking and prolonged stays for which the space is not intended.

  • Exceeding the 10 minutes of free stay of the vehicles will result in a charge of 5 euros for the next 10 minutes, while after the 20 minutes stay in the area, there will be an additional charge of 1 euro per minute.

The goal of the project, as stated by the AIA, is not to charge and burden users – instead, the simple process aims to quickly adapt drivers to a more functional and fair use of the spaces for all.

“After all, international experience shows us that dealing with traffic issues with similar systems is a widespread and successful practice in most major European airports, which achieved very high driver compliance rates in a short period of time, resulting in the decongestion of vehicle transit areas.
Correct driving behavior and safety are the main components of the logic of the interventions and, in this context, sums that may come from non-compliance of drivers and exceeding the time, will be allocated by the AIA for planning, support and implementation of programs of the Road Safety Institute “Panos Mylonas”.

  • Special provisions will apply to travelers with reduced mobility and increased needs, while the provision of free parking in P1 and P2 Short Term spaces for 20 minutes will continue to apply to all users.
  • Payment is made at the machine with cash or card. The maximum length of stay in the area cannot exceed 60 minutes.
  • For vehicles that will stay longer than 1 hour, it is planned to remove them from the area with a crane.

Full information on “what is changing” and “why” is available on the AIA website https://www.aia.gr/el/traveler/access-and-transportation/pickup-dropoff/ as well as on all social media platforms airport networking.

A first introduction to the new process: