The International Airport of Athens "Eleftherios Venizelos", is continuously confirming its position as one of the most resilient and dynamic aviation hubs in Europe, maintaining a positive couse into 2026 despite geopolitical instability in the Middle East.
2025 was a milestone year, as the airport recorded historic highs in both passenger traffic and connectivity, further strengthening Athens’ position on the European aviation map.
The airport served 164 destinations in 55 countries through 70 airlines, setting a new all-time record. This performance reflects both rising tourism demand for Athens and strategic cooperation with airlines to develop new routes. At the same time, Athens achieved a remarkable rise in global connectivity rankings, climbing from 21st place in 2019 to 2nd place in 2025 among major European airports.
A key objective, according to CEO Giorgos Kalimeris, remains the steady enhancement of the airport’s value through network expansion and the attraction of new markets.
In this direction, the airport’s expansion program is progressing rapidly, aiming to gradually increase capacity to 40 million passengers annually by 2032, improving both infrastructure and service quality.
The total investment program is estimated at around 1.3 billion euros (2024 prices) and will be implemented between 2025 and 2032, with up to 50% of the investments expected to be completed by 2028. Funding has already been secured through a 806 million euros bond loan from Alpha Bank and a planned capital increase under a dividend reinvestment program.
However, inflationary pressures linked to global developments are expected to push costs upward, meaning the final budget will depend on market conditions and procurement phases for major projects.