In April 2017, Fraport Greece (established in 2015) launched an airport development program, in tandem with the start-up of its concession for managing eleven island and three mainland airports across Greece.
The plans included projects and development works for upgrading the airports’ facilities, aimed at significantly “improving the overall customer travel experience, while responding to the expected increase in passenger traffic,” according to its website.
During the 40-year concession period Fraport Greece said they will implement additional maintenance and upgrading works, as well as capacity expansions resulting in possible total investments of some one billion euros (£844.7 million).
Despite various challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, construction works advanced successfully and concluded the last of its construction works in January 2021, three months ahead of the contractual deadline.
The company invested 440 million euros (£371 million) into the development programme. Through this, Fraport Greece delivered five new terminals, expanded and modernised an existing five and upgraded four others. Construction projects at airside operational areas included renovating 12 runways, improving ramp areas and construction and renovating 12 fire stations. All airports have also been equipped with new state-of-the-art baggage handling and security detection systems, their website said.
Improvements for increasing the total capacity of the airports and the quality of services also included increasing the number of check-in counters from 213 to 291 and the number of departure gates from 103 to 147.
At Corfu Airport (CFU), there was a 27 percent increase in the number of check-in stations and a 33 percent increase in the number of departure gates and security-check lanes. Meanwhile in Kefalonia, the new terminal offers some 10,700 square metres of space for passenger comfort and a 70 percent increase in the number of check-in counters. On Mykonos, the redesigned terminal is now 50 percent bigger.
Alexander Zinell, CEO Fraport Regional Airports of Greece Management Company S. A. said: “In the first 48 months of our 40-year concession, we successfully rebuilt 14 airports in Greece, prioritising infrastructure modernization and increased capacity.
“Having successfully completed the mandatory construction program, we now shift our attention to improving the passenger journey, retaining talent and implementing a demanding decarbonization program. Despite the challenging pandemic years, our 14 airports experience a remarkable traffic growth increase and play a crucial role in the Greek tourism industry.”
Fraport Greece recently announced the latest phase of the redevelopment work and warned passengers of imminent airport closures. This will include at Samos, Corfu, Kefalonia, Rhodes, Santorini, Mykonos and Zakynthos, with all work expected to be completed by March 2025 at the latest.
Santorini and Mykonos are some of the busiest in Greece, according to the latest data. Mykonos Airport in particular ranks among the top 10 busiest airports in the country with over one million passengers a year, the majority of which arrive in the summer. However, the airport currently only has one terminal for Schengen and non-Schengen flights. Santorini Airport, meanwhile, is the eighth busiest in Greece with nearly 2.5 million passengers.
