Intense competition in the domestic Greek market, which began to reduce its share Ryanairis the reason why he decided to close his base in Athena during this winter. In particular, the Irish low-cost airline announced the closure of its base in Athens on October 29, explaining its decision by the lack of incentives from the airport as well as Greek governmentas he claims.

However, its decision to park two of its aircraft at Athens International Airport rather than any significant volume of routes inside or outside the Greek market, according to aviation industry sources, has more to do with domestic competition: the Aegean sea controls a share of about 40%, as well as Greek interests Sky Expresswhich has recently increased the number of aircraft operated in Greece has risen to around 15%, Aviation sources tell K.. It is recalled that Sky Express recently made a €700 million investment upgrading its fleet with six Airbus A320neos, one Airbus A320ceo and six ATR 72-600s.

Ryanair’s decision practically concerns the parking of two of its aircraft at Athens International Airport.

On the contrary, Ryanair has a share of about 7%, while also facing competition from foreign low-cost companies such as Easyjet, Volotea and Wizz. So, and because the fees it pays after completing the investment in 14 regional airports have increased, it has decided to limit its presence in the country, but this does not mean that it will not operate routes from European destinations to Athens. A continuation is expected, that is, according to the information, routes from Athens airport to 10 destinations (Vienna, Brussels, Budapest, Bologna, Milan, Rome, Malta, Katowice, Dublin and London).

As for its domestic itineraries in Greece, travel agents report that they have been limited to one or two destinations anyway (Santorini for example), of course due to the pandemic and travel restrictions.

However, Ryanair, known throughout the world for its informational interventions, has decided to hold Greek airports and the Greek government responsible: it usually states that “Athens Airport, together with other Greek airports owned by the German monopoly of the Fraport group, do not offer any incentives for to stimulate traffic during the winter season, to develop tourism outside the peak season and to connect Athens with other destinations.” And he adds that “the Greek government does not provide long-term incentives for airlines to invest in Athens airport during off-peak periods or to develop tourism in the way that Spain, Italy, Portugal and Cyprus have done”, while “it applies an airport development fee of 12 euros per passenger, making Greek access fees uncompetitive.”

Ryanair claims it has submitted several growth proposals to the Greek government that will double passenger numbers from 5 million to 10 million over the next 5 years, cut seasonality by more than 2.5 million additional off-peak passengers per year, and boost tourism revenue . up to 1 billion euros per year and create 4,000 local jobs. “However, the Greek government, for inexplicable reasons, did not even respond to Ryanair’s proposals, which will completely change Greek tourism over the next 5 years.” Commenting on these statements, government sources explain to K that “if the company had had the patience, it would have heard from TIF the announcements that will be made regarding the benefits for flights from abroad to Greece in the winter, as part of the policy of reducing the seasonality of Greek tourism and an initiative to attract visitors from Northern Europe to spend an energy-intensive winter in warmer regions such as Crete.” In addition, market sources report that airport taxes in major European metropolitan areas such as Rome, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Barcelona, ​​as well as in popular destinations such as the Balearic Islands, are more expensive than in Greece.