Fraport Greece respects the needs and choices of Irish budget airline Ryanair to reduce its domestic flights in Greece, Fraport Greece general manager George Vilos said on Wednesday, and still considers the airline a strategic partner.
Fraport Greece, which operates and develops 14 regional airports in Greece, said that “Ryanair’s decision to reduce its flights in the domestic market is based on operational reasons of the company. Fraport Greece respects Ryanair’s operational needs and choices, and (Ryanair) remains in any case a strategic partner operating in 9 of 14 airports, holding a significant market share and registering great growth in recent years in international destinations.”
Vilos added, “On our side, our priority is to serve the increased passenger traffic we expect at our airports this year, and our actions are focused towards that direction.”
Ryanair said that as of June 1 it would shut down its base in Chania, Crete and keep only its Athens to Mykonos, Santorini and Thessaloniki flights this summer.
Earlier, Ryanair Sales and Marketing director for Eastern Mediterranean Nikolaos Lardis said in a statement the reason for the decision was that the airport charges “encourage flights only in summer and only to international destinations; flights that need fewer aircraft in Greece.” He added that “two aircraft will be transferred from Greece to Germany where they can generate higher performance on an annual basis.”
