The first quarter of 2005 was marked by an 8% increase in passenger traffic for Athens International Airport , compared to the same period last year. In total, during the period January - March 2005, AIA welcomed 2.7 million passengers, ranking among Europe's fastest growing major airports and reasserting the airport's successful aeronautical strategy. The main driver for this development was an impressive +13% on a year-to-year international passenger traffic increase for the 1st quarter of 2005. Specifically, the number of international inbound tourism passengers rose by 22%, reflecting the resurgence of the city of Athens as an attractive tourist destination.* As per geographical region, the Middle East and Eastern/Central Europe enjoyed impressive growth (+24% and 18%, respectively,) signifying the positive effects of AIA' s aeronautical regional strategy. On the long-haul markets, North America presented significant growth (reaching +19%), whereas the Far East was the only region that experienced a decline (-14%) during the first quarter of 2005, mainly due to the adverse "Tsunami" effect. Domestic passenger traffic remained at last year's levels, posting a small increase (+1%), an expected development, given the significant traffic boost that occurred during March 2004 due to the Greek parliamentary elections. Low-cost carriers also continued their successful performance, succeeding in the first quarter to present strong growth both in terms of flights and passengers (+19% and +21%, respectively).
<table "="" align="center" border="1" bordercolor="#000000" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td> 4 years of operation - 50 million passengers. In the end of the first quarter of 2005, Athens International Airport completed 4 years of operation (March 2001 - March 2005), having welcomed in total 50 million passengers and 500,000 flights.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <div class="divider_dark"> </div> <p></p>