Greece is entering the holiday season with robust air travel momentum, as international seat capacity for December climbs 10.7 percent compared to 2024, according to INSETE, the research institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE).
Figures from the institute’s AirData Tracker show that scheduled international air seats for December have risen to 1,286,560 from 1,166,525 last year, reflecting strong winter travel interest and highlighting the country’s growing appeal as a festive-season destination.
Germany remains the largest market, contributing 177,489 seats, up 10.4 percent, followed by Italy with 106,698 seats (up 1.2 percent) and the United Kingdom at 101,920 seats (up 3.5 percent).
Cyprus and Türkiye round out the top five inbound markets, with seat capacity changing by –1.7 percent and +5.2 percent, reaching 103,316 and 80,635 seats respectively.
The sharpest year-on-year growth was recorded in Northeast Europe, Asia and the Middle East, with Moldova surging 150.8 percent, Slovakia 99.3 percent, Lebanon 89.4 percent, China 85.6 percent, Portugal 80.4 percent and Denmark 70.1 percent.
Conversely, decreases were recorded in Austria (16.2 percent), the UAE (32.9 percent), Armenia (19.2 percent), and Singapore (30.8 percent).
Greek airports performance
Athens International Airport (AIA) continues to lead in capacity, handling 1,057,725 seats – a 9.1 percent rise. Thessaloniki follows with 209,084 seats, up 9.3 percent.
Heraklion saw the most striking growth, with December seats up 437.3 percent, highlighting rising winter demand and the expansion of Crete as a year-round destination.
Domestic seat capacity highlights
Domestic air travel also shows steady winter performance.
According to the AirData Tracker, Athens tops the network with 359,430 scheduled December seats and a total of 1.78 million seats over the season. Thessaloniki accounts for 123,018 seats in December, reaching 585,666 for the winter months. Heraklion records 92,724 seats for December and 425,810 across the season. Corfu posts strong domestic growth at 21.6 percent, while Chios sees a 15.6 percent decline.
Overall, the data illustrate a holiday season of broad geographic strength, sustained international demand and stable domestic operations, positioning Greece for another successful winter in 2025.
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