With three strong investment schemes, which already have significant experience in airport management and major infrastructure, the tender for the concession of the country's 22 regional airports is moving forward, with the next critical milestone set for early 2027.
Then the second phase of the tender process is scheduled to begin, with the aim that the contractor for the unified portfolio of the 22 airports will have been selected within 2027.
The next step is the evaluation of the expressions of interest dossiers, with those candidates meeting the preselection criteria moving on to the second phase, which includes the submission of financial offers.
In the first phase of the tender being run by the National Development Fund, Athens International Airport (AIA), the GEK TERNA - GMR Airports Greece consortium and the Fraport AG - Delta Airport Investments consortium, a company of the Copelouzos Group, expressed interest.
The composition of the candidates is of particular interest, as competing for the concession are the operator of the country's largest airport, the partners developing the new airport in Kasteli, Heraklion, and the scheme already behind the operation of the 14 regional airports.
AIA's entry
Athens International Airport is entering the tender independently, seeking a portfolio of airports outside Attica.
The company, which was founded in 1996 as a public-private partnership, manages Greece's largest air gateway and holds the right to develop, operate and exploit Athens airport until 2046. Since 2024 it has been listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, while its activities extend beyond purely aviation operations to commercial and development services.
AIA's participation in this tender carries particular weight, as it concerns a portfolio of infrastructure outside Attica.
The GEK TERNA and GMR scheme struck again
With Kasteli as their "dowry," GEK TERNA and GMR Airports Greece are entering the bid for the 22 regional airports, the two partners that have already joined forces for the development and operation of the new Heraklion International Airport in Crete.
GEK TERNA has one of the largest portfolios of concessions and infrastructure projects in Greece, with a presence, among others, in motorways, PPP projects and airports.
For its part, GMR Airports is one of the largest private airport operators globally, with the airports it manages and develops serving more than 130 million passengers annually. Beyond Greece and the Kasteli project, the group has a presence in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The third bet for Fraport and Copelouzos
The Fraport AG scheme with Delta Airport Investments of the Copelouzos Group already has a strong joint footprint on the Greek airport map. The two sides cooperate through Fraport Greece in the management of the country's 14 regional airports, while they also jointly participate in the scheme that has undertaken the 40-year concession of Kalamata International Airport, together with "Pyleas" of the Constantakopoulos Group.
The German Fraport is one of the major international airport operators. In addition to Frankfurt Airport, it has stakes in about 30 airports worldwide. The German group has many years of expertise in airport operations, commercial exploitation, infrastructure management and aviation services.
Delta Airport Investments is a member of the Copelouzos Group, one of the largest Greek infrastructure and investment groups, with a strong presence in the sectors of energy, transport and concessions. The group has significant experience in the development, financing and management of major infrastructure projects, while it already has an extensive footprint in the airport sector.
More specifically, beyond its presence in the management of the country's 14 regional airports and in the scheme that has undertaken the concession of Kalamata International Airport, it has a stake in Athens International Airport.
The package of 22 airports
The interest of the three schemes concerns the portfolio of 22 airports: Alexandroupoli, Araxos, Astypalaia, Ikaria, Ioannina, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kasos, Kastellorizo, Kastoria, Kozani, Kythira, Leros, Limnos, Milos, Naxos, Nea Anchialos, Paros, Sitia, Skyros, Syros and Chios.