Athens International Airport freezes all charges for 2010 in recognition of the industry downturn and offers new incentives package for airlines

To support airlines in mitigating the financial challenges caused by the severe downturn of traffic worldwide during this dire times, Athens International Airport announces that its pricing for the year 2010 remains unchanged regarding all airport charges (landing and parking charges, security charge, passenger terminal facility charge and ground handling centralized infrastructure charges) without any inflationary adjustment.

This decision to freeze all airport charges for 2010 (similar initiatives had also been taken during past adverse situations) reflects once again Athens International Airport’s standing commitment to support its airline-partners in their development. By its latest initiative, Athens International Airport stands by the efforts of airlines to mitigate their overall financial burdens and minimize the impact of the crisis that has severely affected both airlines and airports globally.

Furthermore, Athens International Airport’s annual Incentive Programme continues in 2010 and will be further improved to reflect the needs for more discounts for airlines and help them reduce their operating costs considerably.  AIA’s non-discriminatory Incentives’ Scheme, spreading across the majority of airlines, is distinctly characterized by a developmental approach focusing on airlines that add new routes and/ or frequencies in their network operated to/from Athens International Airport. Within our joint effort, AIA will also continue supporting and co-financing the marketing developmental packages offered to airlines.

The CEO of Athens International Airport, Dr. Yiannis Paraschis, stated: "With all predictions indicating another difficult year ahead of us, our initiative to freeze all airport charges for 2010, furthermore without any inflationary adjustment, aims to the financial support of our airline-partners, while it also aims to preserve the attractiveness of the Athens aviation market within the ongoing recession. Today more than ever we are convinced that our partnership spirit sets a strong basis for the joint efforts of airports and airlines.