The passenger traffic in Greece has increased by 344.2 per cent, in addition to international arrivals, which have surged by 524.7 per cent in November 2021 compared to the corresponding time in 2020, statistics of the Greek Policy Service Aviation (CAA) show.

The same source reveals that airports in the country recorded an increase of 75.3 per cent compared to the corresponding season last year, while compared to the same time of pre-pandemic levels, where no flight bans and restrictions were imposed due to the pandemic, the decline reaches 44.8 per cent, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

The data further shows that the number of passengers handled during January-November 2021 was 34,029,893 million, about 75.3 per cent more than in the same period of 2020 when 19,411,876 million passengers visited the country.

Regarding the number of flights at the country’s airports, a positive trend has been evident as they amounted to 361,958 out of which 151,762 were domestic, and 210,196 were international, showing an increase of 48.8 per cent compared to the corresponding period of 2020 where a total of 243,252 flights were operated.

Moreover, comparing the data from this year to pre-pandemic levels when over 500,000 flights were operated, a decline of 28 per cent has been witnessed in aircraft traffic. The total passenger traffic experienced halved, showing a 44.8 per cent decrease, as it peaked at 61,665,799 passengers in January-November 2019.

In comparison to last year, this November, a surge of 524.7 per cent in international passenger arrivals was noted while flights also increased by 110.6 per cent. In terms of international passengers, this year, 426,284 travellers were handled, while in November 2020, 74,005 passengers had arrived, peaking with a 524.7 per cent increase.

In addition, the total number of flights (domestic and international) this year reached 22,771, also marking an increase of 110.6 per cent compared to the corresponding month of 2020, where 10,810 flights were handled. The total number of passengers for arrivals and departures in November of this year amounted to 1,972,266 passengers, marking an increase of 344.2 per cent compared to the passenger traffic in November of ’20, which was 444,035 passengers.

Comparing the aviation data for November 2021 with the statistics of November 2019, when there were no concerns related to the COVID-19 virus and no restrictions on flights and travel bans imposed, the arrivals of foreign passengers in 2021 showed a decrease of 32.8 per cent, while in November 2019, 687,711 international passengers were registered. Furthermore, the total passenger traffic at Greek airports fell by 24 per cent, as in November 2019, it was set at 2,596,285 passengers.