International travellers

Since you are travelling from a non-Schengen country, you will pass through Passport Control.

Passport Control points at Athens International Airport are operated by officers of the Hellenic Police who are entitled of verifying the authenticity of the travel documents presented, by checking national & international databases.  

There are two flows dividing  

• "European Union- EU passports/ ID holders " and
• "Non-Eu Passports holders". 

If you are a biometric passport holder, passing through the Main Terminal Building, you may use the Eu “e-Passport” control points, which are automatic self-service border checkpoints. 

(Biometric passport/ e-passport is the one that contains a microchip & has the biometric symbol on the front cover). 

 You can use this system if you: 

• are a national of one of the EU countries, a national of an EEA country (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or Swiss national.
• you are over 12 years old 

You can use e-Passport control without prior registration. 

There are instructions at each e-gate that help you pass smoothly.  

If these do not apply to you, or if you would prefer to be checked by a Police officer, you can still use the staffed counters at passport control. 

Advice that will help you pass through quicker:

Please remove hats and sunglasses. 

Have your passport open at the photo page and remove any holders or covers. 

Tips

If someone is waiting to pick you up, please advise to calculate the additional time you will need to go through passport & customs control, starting from the time the aircraft is parked until you exit to the free access area and meet.  

Baggage trolleys can be found in the baggage claim area. 

Connecting flight at Athens airport: If you have a connecting flight at Athens airport and are leaving the EU, you will need to go through departure passport control. 

Customs in Greece is the state authority overseeing the import, export and transport of goods. They check whether all necessary taxes have been paid and whether goods comply with regulations.  There are limitations on the amounts of exporting/importing certain goods. Rules vary according to the destination (Eu/ Non EU).

When travelling from one EU country to another, you can take tobacco and alcohol products with you for personal use but not for resale.

Under EU law, you do not have to prove that the goods are for your personal use if you are carrying quantities fewer than the ones included in the EU web site.

For further information on alcohol and tobacco please see.

There are no general restrictions on carrying any animal origin products if you are travelling within the EU, since all EU countries have to respect strict common veterinary standards. 

There are strict procedures and veterinary controls on the introduction of products of animal origin into the European Union (eg. meat, meat products, milk and milk products) by travelers. 

For further information on restrictions on products of animal origin please see.

There are strict procedures and phytosanitary controls on the introduction of plants (flowers, seeds) plant products (fruits vegetables) and other objects (wood packaging material) into the European Union by travelers. For further information on restrictions concerning plants, plant products and other objects, please see phytosanitary instructions.

You may carry animals or plants when you are travelling within EU countries. But most EU countries do have strict rules on transporting endangered species or products derived from them. You may need a permit to travel with certain species.

Any person entering or leaving the EU (i.e. any traveler or crew member that enters or leaves the EU)  carrying cash of a value of €10,000 or more is required to declare that sum to the competent authorities of the Member State through which he/she is entering or leaving the EU. 

Arrivals - Upon your Arrival at Athens Airport and before you Exit the Baggage Reclaim Area, you must proceed to Customs Office for Currency Declaration. 

For further information on currency declaration please see.

Personal Property declaration: Declare to the airport customs authorities, at the time of departure to countries not belonging to the European Union, personal property items of higher value such as video cameras, cameras etc, so that upon return customs fees will not be required. 

Tips

Never carry anything on behalf of someone else.  

In case you need to contact Greek Customs authority at Athens airport, you may send an e-mail at: tel.el-venizelos@aade.gr