About Athens
Athens Airport is also Europe’s sixth busiest airport and the European Union’s first.
The airport features an operational distance of 41km from Athens city centre and therefore enables passengers to move between the city and the airport without having to cross any roads. The Airport is situated on the northern fringes of Athens City, due north of the city centre, close to the capital’s international railway station.
In terms of passenger traffic, Athens International Airport is now the fastest expanding airport in Europe. Since the beginning of 2009, the number of passengers arriving to the airport has grown by 37%, reaching over 11.1 million passengers in 2021, representing 42% of the total air traffic in Greece.
About Athens International Airport
The Athens International Airport is one of the busiest airports in Europe with a single point of entry in both directions. Operating at full capacity, the Airport consists of nine passenger terminals, with over 4.2 million people passing through each year and approximately 150,000 flights per year.
With a single point of entry in both directions, Athens International Airport is one of Europe’s busiest airports. From the Athens International Airport, passengers can transfer to five international airports, four domestic airports and eleven international destinations in Europe, Middle East and Asia.
Athens International Airport is also the seventh busiest airport in Europe and the first in the European Union.
Athens International Airport has the largest transportation hub within the area, with over 60 destinations in Greece and hundreds of flights and departures per day.
Athens International Airport is a highly modern, high-capacity and modern airport with the highest standards and modernised infrastructure.
Athens International Airport features over 250 shops, a pharmacy, café and restaurants. At the airport, passengers can purchase tickets to many of the most popular destinations around the world, as well as purchase railway tickets to the Greek capital.
Where to go if you need to check-in and get a boarding pass
If you’re trying to get to Athens from anywhere in the world, the best place to check-in and get a boarding pass is the Blue Tab Terminal in Athens Airport.
Why is the Blue Tab Terminal best?
Check-in in the Blue Tab Terminal in Athens Airport is faster and easier than anywhere else. You only have to show your passport and boarding pass and you are given a window seat to pass the time before your flight.
Other things you need to know about Athens Airport
Why the Blue Tab Terminal is best
Although the Blue Tab Terminal in Athens Airport is the first one in Greece, it is still the fastest check-in option. The Blue Tab Terminal has fast service and a fast turnaround time for checking in and getting your boarding pass. The ticket desks, the check-in desk and the baggage carousels are all within easy reach for your gate and transport.
It is easier for you to get to the Blue Tab Terminal by taxi or by bus than by car. Athens Airport is served by three bus lines, and the Blue Tab Terminal is served by two bus routes. At times, there is a change in the transport system for the Blue Tab Terminal as the intercity buses from Athens to the Blue Tab Terminal usually go to the Airport’s International Terminal, although there is only one bus that goes directly to the Blue Tab Terminal.
It is a great idea to get your boarding pass, check-in and get a ticket at the Blue Tab Terminal as it is the cheapest and quickest option for checking in at Athens Airport. It will also save you the time and money of having to go to the Blue Tab Terminal every time you want to check in, buy a ticket or get a boarding pass for another destination.
The Blue Tab Terminal is far less crowded than the rest of the airport. However, if you need to get to a specific area, you should arrive early.
Also read: 37 Best Things to Do in Athens, Greece
Getting to Athens Airport from Athens City
Check-in at the Blue Tab Terminal in Athens Airport is the quickest way to get to the airport. There are two bus routes that go straight to the Blue Tab Terminal. The first bus route from Athens City Center travels right to the Blue Tab Terminal. However, when it is very busy, there is a change of the bus route as the bus goes to the International Terminal instead of the Blue Tab Terminal. It goes to the Blue Tab Terminal just in time for you to check-in and get a boarding pass.
However, the second bus route from Athens City Centre takes you to the Blue Tab Terminal, but only when the Blue Tab Terminal is very busy. The bus goes straight to the Blue Tab Terminal and then leaves. It doesn’t make any stops, only to drop passengers off at the Blue Tab Terminal. If the bus is very busy, there is only one bus that stops at the Blue Tab Terminal.
But if the Blue Tab Terminal is not very busy, it can take you much longer than just one hour to get to the Blue Tab Terminal. You need to be at the Blue Tab Terminal when it is very busy.
When it is very busy, there is a change of buses, with the first bus taking you straight to the Blue Tab Terminal, and the second bus taking you to the Blue Tab Terminal and then leaving.
The bus stops at the Blue Tab Terminal only when there is a large queue of passengers who are getting to their flights.
Other things to know about Athens Airport
Check-in at Athens Airport is very convenient. It is a much faster option than anywhere else.
If you’re trying to get to Athens from anywhere in the world, the best place to check-in and get a boarding pass is the Blue Tab Terminal in Athens Airport.
If you are not sure of the airport for your destination, check-in online at one of the travel booking websites.
Cannes Airport
The airport in Cannes, which is expected to welcome an additional three million annual tourists when its new terminal opens in September 2021, has been ranked the one most likely to be affected by air traffic infrastructure constraints in this region of the world.
The airport at Cannes is now being renovated, with three new terminals being built and expanded over the next five years.
Spanning the existing boundaries of Cannes and the newly built La Grande Maranche District, this airport complex will ultimately see five new passenger terminals built to coincide with the planned growth in demand for air travel into this region.
At a projected cost of almost EUR 2 billion, the new terminals will expand capacity to nearly 15 million people per year, more than tripling the current airport’s capacity during the high summer season.
However, while the construction will be well underway by the time the airport’s new terminal opens in September 2021, the potential scale of disruption at other airports in the region – such as Toulouse – means this may not be enough.
New flights for Cannes
The expansion of the runway at Toulouse is already nearing completion with the first test flights taking off in mid-2021, with the official opening in the summer of 2021. This airport currently serves more than 2.8 million passengers each year.
According to the CAA, other new flights to be introduced in the region include Geneva-Marseille, Geneva-Valencia, Geneva-Cordoba and Geneva-Nizza in 2021.
The report highlights further opportunities to increase air capacity.
With the development of the new Toulouse airport predicted to effect more than 600,000 flights in the next years, Cannes Airport is also expected to be the most affected by construction activity in this region of the world, posing additional issues for the global aviation sector.
Airport worst affected by congestion
Regional authorities are aware that this will impact directly on passengers of the existing airport in Cannes.
It is estimated that these passengers, who are faced with more delays and longer journeys, could represent a total of 50,000 of the 170,000 potential new passengers arriving at the airport each year, according to the CAA.
According to the CAA, the current airport in Cannes is already the worst affected of all major airports in the region.
Cannes Airport currently suffers delays of up to 45 minutes on its three most important domestic and international routes – Paris-Calais-Paris, Milan-Bergamo-Paris and Milan-Düsseldorf-Paris – with estimated delays of up to 30 minutes on others, the CAA says.
However, the analysis shows that these delays will grow with the development of other airports in the region, as new routes, terminals and destinations are added to the airport system.
Conversely, while the airport could be further congested during this development phase, the current congestion is a consequence of growing demand in this part of the world.
This growth is the result of recent record levels of aviation activity in Europe – which has seen a total of more than 118 million passengers and more than 36 million tonnes of cargo air transported to and from the region, according to the CAA report.
While the construction of new airports is a vital part of the overall economic development of the regions in which they are being built, the new report suggests that even this will not be enough to ease congestion at existing airports.
In fact, at the current rate of air traffic growth, the air capacity at the existing airport in Cannes could fall below its limit in just 15 years.
For the aviation industry, it is now considered the more realistic option for airport authorities to try to attract more airlines into the region with the promise of wider flight slots to expand airport capacity.
However, for passengers, this is unlikely to happen soon enough.
Advice from Paris
To make matters worse, the report also includes detailed recommendations for the management of the existing airport in Cannes.
In particular, the report recommends reducing congestion on the existing airport by separating the arrival hall from the transfer desks, as well as helping travellers by displaying departure schedules from all departing flights.
It suggests that those travelling from the south-east could be best served by using alternative transport to reach the airport, as well as staying away from the airport as much as possible during peak hours.
Passengers should also be encouraged to travel at least two hours before their flight departs to arrive at the airport.
Finally, more passenger facilitation staff would be needed to provide customer service to passengers, including guiding and advising them in airport facilities as well as informing them of the airport layout, according to the CAA.
The report adds that additional security measures should also be implemented to help increase security measures and improve safety.
Aside from highlighting the shortage of airport capacity in Cannes, the CAA report highlights the difficulty of transporting passengers through the existing airport, despite the complex journey itself.
For those arriving by plane, the current airport, located in the heart of the city, is accessed from three different railway stations.
As well as using public transport, it is also recommended that passengers could walk to the train station, to make sure they arrive at the correct terminal in the city centre.
For those travelling from the south-east, the report recommends using the Airport Express Line, from the city centre, to get to the airport in less than an hour.
Once there, passengers should be encouraged to take the EasyBus, to and from the airport.
Even though it only operates for a limited number of flights, the CAA says that those who use the Express Line are likely to spend significantly less on flights, and could help ease the airport’s current congestion.
For those on the airfield, it is recommended that emergency airfield access be extended to facilitate the immediate evacuation of passengers in the event of an emergency.