In the list of the top 10 airports, with the most flights in Europe for 2024, is Athens International Airport. According to data published by Eurostat, “Eleftherios Venizelos” airport for the first time in its history, is ranked in the TOP 10 of flights in the 27 countries that make up the European Union. It is the eighth largest airport in the European Union by number of flights for 2024. It ranked eighth, above Vienna’s Schwechat Airport (ninth place) and below Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (seventh place).

Let’s remember that Athens International Airport in 2024 registered a total of 268,300 flights, showing an increase of 11% compared to 2023, where it had 241,600 flights. Of these, 109,388 were domestic and 158,913 were foreign. Furthermore, according to Eurostat data, Athens took the lead in terms of non-scheduled flights (charter type), showing the highest rates of 5.5%, followed by Vienna with 4.6% and Madrid with 4, 5%.

The top ten airports

First in the ranking was Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with 484,000 flights, followed by Charles de Gaulle in Paris, France, with 463,000 flights, while the top three was completed by Frankfurt Airport, in Germany, with 437,000. flights. Madrid’s “Barajas” airport is in fourth place, Barcelona’s “El Prat de Llobregat Aeropuerto” is in fifth place, Munich’s “Munich” airport is in sixth place and Rome’s “Fiumicino” is in seventh place. Closing the top ten airports of the E.U. with the most flights, in ninth place is Vienna’s “Schwechat” and in tenth place is “Dublin”, Dublin-Ireland. It is noted that in 2024 there were 6.7 million flights in the EU, 5.8% more compared to 2023 (6.3 million).

Record passenger traffic in 2024- Investments

It is worth noting that Athens airport has recorded record passenger traffic in recent years, recovering impressively after the covid-19 pandemic. 2024 closed with a new historical record, recording an increase of 13.1% compared to 2023, a total of 31.85 million passengers were transported. Both domestic and international passenger traffic at the country’s largest airport exceeded 2023 levels by 7.3% and 15.7%, respectively.

The dynamic course of the AIA reinforces even more the urgent need to proceed immediately with the major expansion investment program. The tender for the multi-storey car park and the new airstrip is already underway while the major tender for the terminal expansion is being prepared.

The multi-storey car park will be built where the P1 short-term car park is now, next to the train terminal. The new parking lot will have 7 floors and will be able to park around 3,500 vehicles. A total of 98,600 sq m will be built.

According to the current design the first two floors will be for car rental companies, and will also have office space and car washes. The remaining five floors will serve vehicles for short and long term parking. There will be charging stations for electric vehicles in the parking lot.

As for the works on the aircraft parking areas, according to the plan, a new 32-plane parking runway, two new bridges for ground handling vehicles that will connect to the runway, as well as a full-building aircraft service station will be built, among other things. surface area 4,860 sq.m.