Fraport Greece CEO: ‘We don’t want every month to be like August’

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Alexander Zinell, CEO of Fraport Greece, is optimistic astir the outlook of Greek tourism, contempt this year’s temporary slowdown successful rider traffic astatine definite destinations such arsenic Santorini, successful an interrogation with Kathimerini. He points to strong show astatine airports including Thessaloniki, Corfu and Hania. He notes Greece’s wide enduring popularity, but stresses that basal infrastructure indispensable beryllium improved so section communities tin flooded challenges and maximize the benefits of tourism activity.

“Our extremity is not for each period to look similar August, but alternatively to easiness congestion during highest periods and strengthen the enarthrosis months, so that the wide equilibrium is sustainable and of greater semipermanent value for section communities,” helium explains. He acknowledges that definite destinations bash look unit during highest season. However, helium stresses that thanks to the diverseness of destinations crossed Greece, the state does not suffer from overtourism.

Still, helium underlines that complacency is not an enactment fixed intensifying competition, particularly from different Mediterranean destinations, arsenic well arsenic shifting traveler preferences and needs. He besides explains why formation delays hap and analyzes Europe’s aerial traffic absorption problems.

How is rider traffic evolving crossed the 14 airports you manage?

Passenger traffic crossed the Fraport Greece airdrome web continues to show maturation and resilience, with airports such arsenic Thessaloniki’s Makedonia, Corfu’s Ioannis Kapodistrias, and Hania’s Ioannis Daskalogiannis signaling strong performance.

Despite temporary unit astatine Santorini Airport, we already spot wide signs of betterment compared to erstwhile months. Since the start of our operations, we person served astir 232 cardinal passengers, a milestone that highlights the decisive publication of our 14 airports to the maturation of Greek tourism. As for the archetypal 7 months of 2025, traffic remains connected an upward trajectory, contempt geopolitical conflicts, governmental uncertainty, unexpected earthy events, and economical stagnation.

In total, much than 19.5 cardinal passengers traveled done our airports during this period, marking a 2.1% summation compared to past year. I would besides stress the resumption of flights to and from Israel, which saw a 12.6% summation successful July, arsenic well arsenic the gradual normalization of formation schedules. This demonstrates that leisure travel is progressively perceived arsenic a necessity, adjacent under challenging circumstances.

We often person complaints astir formation delays. What is the origin of this?

In caller years we’ve seen formation delays chiefly owed to aerial traffic control, some astatine European and nationalist levels. I afloat understand passengers’ vexation when facing delays, I’ve experienced it myself. While such incidents successful Greece typically hap during highest travel periods and impact a comparatively constricted fig of flights, the contented of delays is existent and inevitably impacts the smooth cognition of our airports, and by extension, the wide travel acquisition for visitors to our country.

At Fraport Greece, we stay successful changeless connection and adjacent practice with the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, which manages aerial traffic, arsenic well arsenic with the Ministry of Transport. However, it is important to stress that aerial traffic power limitations are a European-wide challenge. The fragmentation of European airspace into galore small units defined by nationalist borders increases complexity, coordination needs, and adjacent CO₂ emissions. To guarantee sufficient capableness successful Europe’s skies, contiguous reforms, important investments successful cutting-edge technologies, and greater integration are required.

Mykonos and Santorini person historically served arsenic indicators for the trajectory of Greek tourism – some arsenic benchmarks of maturation and imaginable saturation. What bash you observe today concerning these two destinations?

It is true that each year there is overmuch treatment astir rising oregon declining visitor numbers connected Santorini and Mykonos, two of the world’s astir iconic destinations. At Fraport Greece – and personally – we stay optimistic astir some islands. They transportation tremendous planetary tourism weight and a affluent heritage. Naturally, there will beryllium seasons of softer demand, periods of stability, and others of strong growth. In fact, I would reason that an occasional dip can, successful some cases, beryllium beneficial successful the mean term.

The marketplace perpetually sends signals, and it is important that we listen, measure and respond accordingly. That said, it is arsenic important to admit that astir destinations crossed Greece are steadily gaining successful visibility, popularity, and tourism growth. Since we began managing the 14 airports, total rider traffic has accrued by 42%. Moreover, this August marked a historical grounds successful arrivals, with Thessaloniki up 9%, Hania 6.7%, Corfu 5.2%, and Rhodes 4.7%.

Can Greece and its infrastructure sustain the increasing fig of tourists, particularly successful fashionable destinations during the highest of summer?

Greece continues to spot steadily rising request arsenic a tourism destination, and my view is that this trend will persist. Questions such arsenic “How bash we negociate such precocious demand?” “How galore visitors tin a destination decently service astatine a fixed time?” and “How tin we safeguard the uniqueness of our destinations?” are communal to each countries with strong visitor flows. Each state indispensable find its ain way to strike the close equilibrium betwixt accommodating request and protecting the uniqueness of its destinations.

Some Greek destinations bash acquisition unit during highest months. However, I bash not judge that Greece suffers from overtourism. The attraction of visitors successful August does not represent overtourism; successful July oregon September, those aforesaid destinations contiguous a very antithetic picture, while the vast bulk of regions crossed Greece look nary such challenges. At Fraport Greece, our relation is to incentivize airlines to widen the season, while astatine the aforesaid clip highlighting gaps and putting guardant proposals for captious nationalist infrastructure. This includes vigor supply, waste management, and water organisation and treatment, arsenic well arsenic the plan and operation of sufficient roadworthy networks and environmentally affable nationalist transport solutions.

‘The clip to enactment is now: Upgrading vital nationalist infrastructure, successful adjacent coordination with the backstage sector, is indispensable for creating a sustainable tourism exemplary – 1 that endures, adapts to clime challenges, and provides semipermanent value to section communities and visitors’

Strengthening these systems with a absorption connected semipermanent resilience and clime adaptation is essential: Renewable vigor and smart grids trim strain during highest periods, effectual waste absorption safeguards ecosystems, and sustainable water solutions code the increasing hazard of scarcity. Similarly, climate-resilient roads and transport networks heighten connectivity while withstanding utmost weather conditions. Ultimately, our extremity is not to marque each period lucifer August, but alternatively to decongest the highest play and strengthen the enarthrosis months, ensuring that tourism maturation is sustainable, much manageable for stakeholders, and of greater value to section communities.

Concerns astir visitor flows and infrastructure pressures are often much pronounced successful highly developed tourist areas. Are you worried astir reactions from section communities?

We support very adjacent ties with the 14 section communities we serve, and we acquisition their concerns first-hand. What they chiefly question is for the competent authorities to supply modern nationalist infrastructure and solutions, so that successful turn they tin connection visitors the high-quality services and hospitality for which Greece is renowned. Upgrading, improving and modernizing nationalist infrastructure successful these destinations acts arsenic a multiplier of maturation – not lone benefiting visitors, but supra each the section communities themselves.

As we stress successful each applicable discussion, we are ever astatine the disposal of nationalist authorities to stock our cognition and expertise successful support of improving the tourism product. Just arsenic we continuously put successful upgrading the 14 airports under our management, we stand acceptable to collaborate so that Greece tin consistently present a world-class tourism acquisition – 1 that respects some destinations and section society.

Passenger traffic is connected the rise. In the archetypal 7 months of 2025, traffic remained connected an upward trajectory, contempt geopolitical conflicts, governmental uncertainty, unexpected earthy events, and economical stagnation. In total, much than 19.5 cardinal passengers traveled done our airports during this period, marking a 2.1% increase.

The clip to enactment is now: Upgrading vital nationalist infrastructure, successful adjacent coordination with the backstage sector, is indispensable for creating a sustainable tourism exemplary – 1 that endures, adapts to clime challenges, and provides semipermanent value to section communities and visitors.

What is your institution doing successful this regard?

Fraport Greece remains firmly committed to the continuous upgrading of Greece’s airdrome infrastructure and, by extension, to strengthening the country’s tourism product. Our concern programme done the extremity of the concession exceeds €1.5 billion, and we are starring aggregate initiatives aimed astatine expanding and modernizing airdrome facilities done a balanced and sustainable approach. These see expanding terminal capacity, upgrading runways, and deploying state-of-the-art technologies to heighten operational efficiency.

Beyond infrastructure investments and the absorption of rider flows, our publication to Greece’s economical prosperity – peculiarly successful the tourism assemblage – is reflected successful the information that each traveler passing done our 14 airports straight supports and stimulates section economies.

Are you ultimately optimistic astir the trajectory of Greek tourism?

Despite the important challenges facing the assemblage – from expanding planetary contention and geopolitical instability to staff shortages, inflationary pressures, and insufficient infrastructure – we stay vigilant and optimistic astir Greece’s future. We are arrogant to lend to strengthening the country’s representation arsenic a stable, reliable and forward-looking destination. Greece continues to determination guardant – and we determination guardant with it.