Heraklion airport passenger traffic rises as Greek airports post record eight-month figures

Passenger traffic at Greece’s airports reached record levels over the first eight months of 2026, with Heraklion’s “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport recording its busiest single day ever, according to industry figures cited by tourism and aviation sector representatives.

Across all 39 airports in the country, managed by the Civil Aviation Authority (24 airports), Fraport Greece (14 airports) and Athens International Airport, 83,333,771 passengers were recorded in 2025. For the January–August period of 2026, total passenger traffic at all Greek airports is expected to show an increase of more than 4.5% compared with the same period last year, with passenger numbers projected to exceed 60 million, up from 57.5 million in 2025. Exact figures are due to be published by the Civil Aviation Authority in the coming days.

Athens airport posts monthly record

At Athens International Airport, passenger traffic reached 23.71 million in the first eight months of 2026, up 4.4% compared with 2025. Both domestic and international traffic increased, by 4.3% and 4.4% respectively. The number of flights over the same period rose to 198,571, an increase of 3.9%, with domestic flights up 4.8% and international flights up 3.2%.

For the full year, Athens airport’s passenger traffic is forecast to exceed 35 million, compared with 34 million in 2025. August 2026 set a historic record for the airport, surpassing 4 million passengers in a single month for the first time — a total of 4.03 million, up 3.7% year-on-year, with domestic traffic up 2.4% and international traffic up 4.3%.

Regional airports under Fraport Greece

The 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece handled 27,708,051 passengers in the January–August period, compared with 26,308,313 in 2025, an increase of 5.3%. Fraport Greece’s management projects full-year 2026 traffic at close to 39 million passengers, up from around 37 million in 2025.

August 2026 was described as a milestone month for the network, with more than 7 million passengers handled across the 14 airports — a 5.1% increase compared with August 2025. Corfu airport (CFU) exceeded 1 million passengers in a single month. Fraport Greece reported that domestic traffic in August reached 968,000 passengers, up 5.7% with a 14% share of traffic, while international traffic reached 6.2 million passengers, up 5% with an 86% share. According to the company, the overall August increase was driven mainly by strong international traffic growth, led by the airports of Corfu, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Chania, Kefalonia, Mykonos and Skiathos. Traffic from the Middle East rose 20.6% in August despite regional geopolitical tension, the company said.

Civil Aviation Authority airports, including Heraklion

The 24 airports managed by the Civil Aviation Authority — including Heraklion, Kalamata, Alexandroupoli, Limnos, Astypalaia, Ioannina, Chios, Kozani, Kastoria, Karpathos, Kythira, Milos, Skyros, Nea Anchialos, Paros, Syros, Araxos, Naxos, Kalymnos, Ikaria, Kastellorizo, Kasos, Leros and Sitia — are expected to close the eight-month period with an increase of more than 3.5% compared with 2025. Full statistics for August and the eight-month period are expected in the coming days.

Heraklion’s airport recorded particularly strong growth, with repeated passenger traffic records during the period. August began with a record at “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport, as 68,818 passengers passed through on August 1, 2026 — the highest number ever recorded there in a single day. By August 23, total passenger traffic for the year had reached 6.81 million, up 4.6%, while international arrivals reached 2.88 million, up 5.1%.

In 2025, “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport surpassed 10 million passengers for the first time in its history, reaching 10,033,151. Based on figures recorded so far in 2026, that threshold could be exceeded again, with the airport’s performance potentially reaching an even higher level this year.

The rise in Heraklion follows a broader pattern of growth across Crete’s airports this year; Chania airport has also reported passenger traffic surpassing 3.1 million so far in 2026.