Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos , commonly initialised as AIA, is the largest international airport in Greece, serving the city of Athens and the region of Attica as well as connecting traffic. It began operation on 28 March 2001 (in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics) and is the main base of Aegean Airlines, as well as other smaller Greek airlines. It replaced the old Ellinikon International Airport.
Athens International Airport is a member of Group 1 of Airports Council International (over 25 million passengers). , it is the 15th-busiest airport in Europe and the second busiest and second largest in the Balkans, after Istanbul Airport.
History Development and ownership
AIA is located between the towns of Markopoulo, Koropi, Spata and Loutsa, about to the east of central Athens ( by road, due to intervening hills). The airport is named after Elefthérios Venizélos. As to-date, the airport is operated by AIA S.A. and ownership is divided between the Hellenic Republic (Greek State) and Private Sector in a 55%-45% stake following a PPP scheme for the airport company. Currently, private investors include the Copelouzos Group (5%) and PSP Investments of Canada (40%), following purchase of Hochtief's shares.
The airport was constructed to replace Athens (Ellinikon) International Airport, which was at capacity with no space for growth. Studies for a new airport had been carried out from as early as the 1970s, with as many as 19 different locations being looked at before an area close to the town of Spata was chosen. Athens Airport SA, a state-owned company, was established in 1978 to proceed with the plans. After delays and slow development, the project was revived in 1991, about a year after the city lost the right to host the 1996 Summer Olympics to Atlanta, Georgia. A bid for the 2000 Summer Games was discussed, but in the end, Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the government launched an international tender for a build-own-operate-transfer partner for the airport, with Hochtief of Germany being selected.
In 1996, Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA) was established as a public–private partnership with a 30-year concession agreement. That same year, the €2.1 billion development began with an estimated completion date of February 2001. The airport itself was completed in October 2000, but opening was delayed a month because surface connections to Attiki Odos were not complete. The airport officially opened on 28 March 2001 with parallel runways, and long. The airport was approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration for take-offs and landings of the largest passenger jet, the A380. The first A380 to visit 'Eleftherios Venizelos' Athens International Airport made a medical emergency medical landing on 13 April 2011; the first scheduled A380 flight was on 26 October 2012 by Emirates.
Greek government debt-crisis impact (2009–2013) The Greek government-debt crisis reduced the overall passenger traffic of the airport for six consecutive years. Many long-haul airlines stopped service to the airport, while others suspended service service in the winter. These problems were exacerbated by the closure of Olympic Airlines, which operated many long-haul flights to and from the airport. In 2013, the airport handled about 12.5 million passengers, 3.2% fewer than in 2012 and 25% lower than in 2007, the all-time-high at that time.
Recovery and new levels of passenger traffic (2014–2015) 2014 signaled a strong recovery for the airport's passenger traffic. More than ten new airlines started new flights to and from Athens. Aegean Airlines strengthened its network by 30% (with many more destinations scheduled for 2015) while Ryanair established a new base in the Athens Airport and added eight destinations. During 2014 the airport operators reported a passenger traffic volume of 15.1 million passengers, an increase of over 21%. This was the result of new destinations, and capacity increases on existing routes, such as the resumption of flights by Singapore Airlines and Gulf Air, and the decision by Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways to fly more frequently to and from Athens. Delta Air Lines resumed their weekly flights and American Airlines retained their seasonal schedules to and from the US with even more frequent connectivity.
According to AIA published statistics, total traffic for 2015 achieved an impressive performance reaching almost 18.1 million passengers, an all-time-record for the airport at that time, increased by 19% on year-over-year basis and by 1.55 million (+9.4%) the previous best, which was the pre-crisis year 2007. In addition, over the same period, aircraft traffic exhibited a solid growth of 14% year-over-year.
Exceeding twenty million passengers (2016–2023) and beyond 2016 was a landmark year for the Athens International Airport, both for domestic and international destinations. Annual results reflected a solid performance for a third year in a row fueled by double-digit growth, this time passing the twenty million mark, increased by 10.7% on year-over-year basis. Healthy growth continued in 2017 with the airport showing a traffic increase of 8.6% to a total of 21.7 million passengers, yet another all-time record for the Athens airport. During 2018, the airport achieved yet another record high, reporting increased passenger traffic by 11% to more than 24.1 million passengers. Equally, aircraft traffic achieved a new record with a reported annual growth of 10.8% to 217,094 movements.
For the first ten months of 2023, the airport traffic shows signs of further increase with passenger numbers up by 19.5% to 24.4 million passengers and aircraft movements up by 15.2%. By the end of 2023, Athens saw about 28.17 million international and domestic passengers. This is a 10.2% increase from 2019.
In the second half of June 2018, Emirates added an extra daily flight from its base in Dubai Airport using the Airbus A380 superjumbo, marking the first time the "superjumbo" operated at the airport with a scheduled flight. The A380 service was discontinued at the end of August 2018.
Terminals
Overview The airport currently has two terminals, the main terminal and the satellite terminal accessible by an underground link from the main terminal. It is designed to be extended in a modular approach over the ensuing years in order to accommodate increases in air travel. These extensions are planned in a six-phase framework. The first (and current) phase allowed the airport to accommodate 26 million passengers per year. When the airport originally opened, the current phase called for a capacity of only 16 million passengers per year; however, the capacity was able to increase without progressing to the next phase thanks to advanced IT logistics. The sixth and final expansion phase will allow the airport to accommodate an annual traffic of 50 million passengers, with the current layout leaving enough space for five more terminals to be added. As such, the parallel runway system currently in place has been designed to accommodate flight traffic with this high annual passenger load upon completion of the final expansion phase.
Main Terminal
The main terminal building handles all intra-Schengen flights, as well as several non-Schengen flights. All of the airport's 153 check-in desks are located in the Main Terminal and it has three separate levels, one for arrivals, one for departures and a food court level complete with a view of the eastern runway. Finally, the terminal is equipped with fourteen jet bridges and eleven belt conveyors for luggage.
Hall A is used for flights to Non-schengen countries and Non-European countries. Hall B handles flights to Intra-schengen countries as well as domestic services.
In March 2018, the Athens International Airport issued a tender for its first physical expansion, concerning the south wings of the main terminal. The tender called for a building expansion with a total area of approximately 14,950 square meters over five levels (levels 0 to 4). The construction company to build the expansion was awarded in summer 2018, and the project was scheduled to be completed by mid-2019. It was to add 18 more counter check-in decks as well as additional space for arrivals, departures, security and an automated control gate. It also planned to add an expanded shopping area and new lounges by mid-2020.
Satellite Terminal The satellite terminal has two levels, one for arrivals and the other for departures. It is easily accessible through an underground link complete with moving walkways. The terminal is equipped with ten jet bridges and is capable of handling annual traffic of six million passengers.
In recent years its parking stands were utilized for long-term storage of airliners, specifically two ex-Olympic Airways Airbus A340-300s (both aircraft were transferred to their new owner in February 2017) and a Boeing 767-300ER of defunct Greek start-up carrier SkyGreece Airlines. However, as of June 2017, the parking space of the satellite terminal is in full use for both Schengen and non-Schengen area flights and to accommodate increased traffic. From June 2017 some low-cost carriers were using it. On 24 May 2018, the Satellite Terminal officially restarted full operations.
Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Athens Airport:
Statistics Athens International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Greece. By the end of 2025, it was the 15th-busiest airport in Europe.
Annual statistics + Passenger, aircraft movement and cargo statistics at El. Venizelos" airport: 2002–2025 Year Passengertraffic Passenger% change Cargo handled (kg.) Cargo% change Aircraftmovements Aircraft% change 2002 11,827,448 106,813,249 159,467 2003 12,252,394 3.6 109,741,122 2.7 170,129 6.7 2004 13,662,332 11.5 118,999,247 8.4 191,048 12.3 2005 14,281,020 4.5 115,942,974 180,936 2006 15,079,708 5.6 120,174,745 3.6 190,872 5.6 2007 16,538,403 9.7 118,972,376 205,295 7.6 2008 16,466,491 122,195,965 2.7 199,418 2009 16,225,589 104,520,932 210,147 5.4 2010 15,411,099 96,676,103 191,766 2011 14,446,971 85,831,845 173,296 2012 12,944,041 76,424,557 153,295 2013 12,536,057 74,874,633 140,448 2014 15,196,369 21.2 77,337,956 3.3 154,530 10.0 2015 18,087,377 19.0 80,475,761 4.0 176,156 14.0 2016 20,016,998 10.7 88,477,196 9.9 189,137 7.4 2017 21,737,787 8.6 90,176,471 1.9 195,951 3.6 2018 24,135,736 11.0 92,573,026 3.1 217,094 10.8 2019 25,573,993 6.0 94,621,875 1.5 225,628 3.9 2020 8,078,394 75,783,363 112,415 2021 12,345,786 52.8 96,907,000 27.9 158,950 41.4 2022 22,728,750 84.1 106,103,811 6.8 213,352 34.2 2023 28,174,150 24.0 94,000,348 241,604 13.2 2024 31,854,761 13.1 124,960,801 268,301 11,0 2025 33,993,746 6.7 137,654,442 283,589 5.7 2026 (September) 27,310,164 4.3 — 198,571 3.9
Busiest passenger routes by country The table below shows passenger totals at Athens International Airport by country destination during 2025, and changes compared to 2024. + Passenger traffic per country destination (2025) Rank Country destination Passengers Change % 0Greece 9,631,244 2.2% 1Italy 2,340,978 3.8% 2Germany 2,181,236 1.2% 3United Kingdom 2,048,728 4.7% 4France 1,549,512 1.4% 5Cyprus 1,520,226 8.5% 6United States 1,432,506 19.5% 7Turkey 1,309,572 10.5% 8Israel 1,184,331 24.8% 9Spain 1,164,366 14.8% 10Switzerland 894,047 7.6%
Airline market share 2025 + Top airlines at Athens Rank Airline Market share1 Aegean Airlines43.3%Olympic Air 2 Sky Express12.9% 3 Ryanair5.8% 4 Lufthansa2.4% 5 Turkish Airlines1.7% 6 EasyJet1.6% 7 Delta Air Lines1.5% 8 British Airways1.4% 9 Swiss Air Lines1.4% 10 Emirates1.3%
Airline alliance market share 2025 + Top airlines alliances at Athens Rank Airline alliance Market Share 1 Star Alliance 50.7% 2 SkyTeam 5.1% 3 Oneworld 4.1% 4 Non-allied carriers 40.1%
Passengers 2025