Aegean Airlines buoyed by Greece’s strong travel recovery

“A lot closer to normality,” is how Aegean Airlines Chairman Eftichios Vassilakis described the June quarter for the airline, both in terms of demand and financials. Aegean reported Friday an $11m net profit for the April-to-June period, driven by a strong recovery in inbound tourism to its home country, Greece. The Athens-based carrier’s operating margin was 7.5%, only about a point lower than what Ryanair managed in Q2. Greece, by most measures, enjoyed one of Europe’s strongest tourism revivals this spring and summer. By June, according to the Airports Council International-Europe, Greece was one of just two European countries — the other being tiny Luxembourg — to have fully recovered to 2019 airport traffic levels. By contrast, June airport traffic in Portugal was down three percent from three years ago. Declines in other major countries were much steeper: Spain was down 11%, Italy 13%, France 18%, the UK 19%, and Germany 27%. The Greek recovery was strongest across the country’s island resorts. Statistics from Fraport, which operates 14 Greek airports outside of Athens, show passenger volumes in Corfu, for example, were up 13 percent year-to-date through August compared to 2019. Corfu’s August volumes alone were up 20%. The increase year-to-date for Chania, on the island of Crete, was 9%. And Rhodes was up 5%. By contrast, traffic still lags pre-crisis levels for Greece’s two largest business markets, namely Athens and Thessaloniki. Data from the Athens airport shows August traffic alone still down 6% from 2019. Fraport data show traffic down 8% at Thessaloniki in August.<br/>