Eleftherios Venizelos airport copes with Easter traffic successfully

The new Athens International Airport "Eleftherios Venizelos" is going through its fourth week of operation, with a smooth flow of flights and services, following an exemplar airport transfer.

The initial difficulties encountered in the familiarization of people with the new systems - a common feature of comparable international airports at the commencement of their operation - were overcome within a remarkably short period of 3 days.

Today, all the systems and services of the airport are operating smoothly.

Since March 28th - opening date of the airport - until Tuesday, April 17th, 2001, the total number of flights to and from the airport amounted to 9,450, and approximately 800,000 passengers were transported (on average, 470 flights and 40,000 passengers daily), whereas 640,000 luggage items were processed through the airport's baggage handling system.

It is worth noting that, in the Easter period (13-17 April), a total of 1,904 flight movements took place, with very few delays. Indicatively, during Good Friday, April 13th, 2001, 540 flights took place, i.e. 15% increase in the number of flights, 25% increase in the number of passengers, and 31% increase in the luggage volume as compared to the average daily data, which reflects the smooth, successful and efficient operation of the airport, as well as its readiness to handle the increased traffic of the summer season.

Furthermore, from the commencement of the airport's operation until April 17th, we have welcomed around 1 million visitors to "Eleftherios Venizelos", for their first encounter with the airport's facilities and services.