Athens International Airport.
SEVILLE, Spain—New Delhi and Mumbai are high on Athens International Airport’s (ATH) wishlist as the Greek gateway intensifies efforts to expand its long-haul network, with new routes also being pursued in the Far East, Sub-Saharan Africa and North America.
“We aspire to introduce services to Delhi and Mumbai, two of India’s largest business and tourism hubs,” ATH director of marketing and communications, Ioanna Papadopoulou, told Routes at Routes Europe 2025 here in Seville. “We are aiming to expand into key regions and markets, focusing on India, the Far East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and we need more of the U.S. and Canada.”
In Asia, Seoul and Guangzhou, China, are also among the key targets. “The continuous growth and prosperity of Greece today fully justify the necessity of direct connections to these mega-cities, which serve as major financial and tourism hubs in Asia,” Papadopoulou added.
Sub-Saharan Africa is also seen as a region with untapped opportunity, she said. “The proximity of ATH and its strong international network provide a dynamic alternative to the existing saturated routes,” Papadopoulou explained. “By connecting Sub-Saharan African cities to Athens, we can offer a fresh and competitive option for travelers, tapping into a region that remains under-explored in terms of direct connectivity.
“Additionally, the strong Greek community in South Africa further strengthens the potential for these routes, creating natural demand and cultural ties.”
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In North America, ATH is eyeing routes to Florida and Western Canada. “Florida demonstrates strong indirect traffic volumes to Athens, and with services already operating to four U.S. East Coast destinations, it is only natural to immediately establish the direct connection with Miami,” Papadopoulou said. “Miami’s significance as a business and tourism hub, combined with the growing demand from travelers in Florida, makes it an indispensable addition to our network.”
She added, “Canada’s Vancouver and/or Halifax are dynamic, potential destinations, beyond Toronto and Montreal, that are already operated.”
ATH’s route development ambitions follow a busy start to 2025. “So far in 2025, we’ve expanded globally with nine new routes and five new airlines,” Papadopoulou said. “Additionally, eight existing airlines are adding 14 new services on routes they already operate.”
U.S. connectivity is growing with the addition of American Airlines’ new service to Charlotte, North Carolina, and Norse Atlantic’s launch of direct flights to Los Angeles. “The summer of 2025 promises to be remarkable as we expand to nine U.S. destinations and 103 weekly frequencies, showcasing our continued growth,” she said.
New European and regional destinations are also being added. Aegean and easyJet are launching new routes to Erbil, Iraq; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Las Palmas and Alicante, Spain, while Israir will begin flying to Eilat, Israel. The Israeli city Haifa will be served for the first time via new entrant Air Haifa, and World2Fly is adding Madrid. SkyUp and Air Albania are expanding service to Chisinau, Moldova, and Tirana, Albania, and Sichuan Airlines is introducing flights from Chengdu, China.
According to data provided by OAG Schedules Analyser, capacity from ATH will total 14 million departure seats during the summer 2025 season, up by 6.1% year-on-year.
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