By Ilias Bellos

More than 44 million passengers used Greek airports in the January-to-August 2018 period, up 9.9 percent from the same period in 2017, while there was also an 8.7 percent increase in the number of flights, Civil Aviation Authority figures have shown.

The passenger growth data, concerning Athens International Airport, the 14 regional airports managed by Fraport Greece, as well as the other 23 regional airports controlled by the state, coincided with the forecast for a 10 percent rise in tourism arrivals this year.

The number of passengers in the first eight months of the year came to 44,454,920, from 40,443,451 a year earlier. Flights at Greek airports numbered 368,581 this year, of which 139,061 were domestic and 229,520 international.

The airport with the biggest annual rise in the January-August period was Sitia’s, in eastern Crete, with a 110.1 percent increase.

The Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (INSETE) has noted that the number of seats on flights scheduled from abroad for the whole season is up 13.4 percent on last year, while that for the August-October period is 12.4 percent higher.

The increase in September and October is expected to be greater than in August, as was also the case in May and June.