Several Greek tourist destinations maintained the momentum they built at the height of the summer season in September, with Skiathos, Kefalonia and Samos standing out for a second consecutive month, recording double-digit growth in passenger traffic.
After August, when the 14 regional airports (Thessaloniki, Corfu, Kefalonia, Aktion, Zakynthos, Kavala, Chania, Rhodes, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos, Skiathos, Samos and Mytilene) managed by Fraport Greece handled more than 7 million passengers for the first time in a single month, growth continued in September, albeit at a slower pace.
According to figures published by the company, total traffic reached 5.7 million passengers, up 4.2% from September 2025, compared with growth of 5.1% in August.
Performance varied from airport to airport, however, with some destinations continuing to strengthen their results while others showed signs of slowing or even a decline in traffic.
September’s winners
Skiathos recorded the biggest percentage increase, at 13.9%, compared with 13.4% in August. The island’s airport handled around 130,000 passengers, with international traffic up 15.6% and domestic traffic down 1.1%.
The picture was similar in Kefalonia, where total passenger traffic rose by 12.1%, to around 176,000 passengers. This followed an increase of 12.4% in August, with the island maintaining a strong pace of growth in the first month of autumn.
Samos was also among the destinations to record double-digit growth, with an 11.8% increase to 87,000 passengers. The corresponding rise in August was 13.7%, indicating that the upward trend continued despite a slight slowdown.
Chania also performed strongly, with passenger traffic up 8.4% to 666,000. International traffic rose by 7.9%, while domestic traffic increased by even more, at 10.8%. Aktion also posted a notable performance, with growth of 6.9% and 172,000 passengers.
In absolute terms, Chania recorded the largest increase in passenger numbers, with around 51,600 more travellers, followed by Rhodes, with 47,000 additional passengers, and Thessaloniki, with nearly 39,000.
Rhodes retained its position as the busiest of the 14 regional airports, handling more than 1.13 million passengers in September, up 4.4%. Thessaloniki’s Macedonia Airport followed with 875,000, while Corfu ranked third with 809,000 passengers, an increase of 4.2%.
Where traffic fell
By contrast, three airports recorded a decline in total passenger traffic in September.
The biggest drop was in Zakynthos, where traffic fell by 1.2% to 397,000 passengers, followed by Kavala, down 1.1% to 53,000.
Santorini was a different case: total traffic was essentially flat, edging up 0.1% to 360,000 passengers. At the airport, international traffic fell by 3.4%, while domestic traffic rose by 5.3%, offsetting the decline in overseas markets.
In Mykonos, the country’s other premium island destination, total traffic growth was limited to 1%, with 247,000 passengers, while international traffic rose by 2.2%.
The picture for the first nine months
The overall picture for the year remains positive: in the nine months from January to September, the 14 regional airports handled 33.41 million passengers, compared with 31.78 million in the same period last year. Traffic rose by 5.1%, with nearly 1.63 million additional passengers.
Of the total, 26.99 million were international passengers, an increase of 5%, while domestic traffic rose by 5.7% to 6.42 million passengers.
By airport, Skiathos and Samos recorded the highest percentage increases, at 12.4% and 12.2%, respectively, confirming their strong performance over the full tourist season so far. They were followed by Kefalonia, up 9%; Chania, up 8.6%; Aktion, up 6.8%; and Corfu, up 6.6%.
In absolute terms, the largest increase was recorded in Thessaloniki, with around 332,000 more passengers than last year, followed by Chania, with around 306,000, and Corfu, with nearly 272,000 additional travellers.
Rhodes retained the top spot for total passenger numbers, with 6.32 million, up 3.7%, while Thessaloniki followed with 6.45 million passengers, an increase of 5.4%.
By contrast, Kos was the only airport to record a slight decline over the nine-month period, down 0.1%, with traffic totalling 2.74 million passengers.