3 AIRPORT STORIES ... VERY RELATED TO EACH OTHER...
“ELEFTHERIOS VENIZELOS” – THE ATHENS AIRPORT
The "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport of Athens, located approximately 20 km east of the city, was officially opened in March 2001, after five years of construction at a total cost of about 2.1 billion euros.
At the time of construction, it was agreed that the Athens International Airport SA, a partnership between the Hellenic Republic (55%) and a private consortium (45%) would operate the "Eleftherios Venizelos" airport for a period of 30 years starting from 1996 (the date when the company HOCHTIEF signed the concession BOOT (Build-Own-Operate-Transfer) of the Athens International Airport (AIA), the world's first private airport partnership project consisting of a private/public partnership).
It appears that the initial concession contract contains very strict conditions, which protect the management company, including very high airport fees (AIA being one of the most expensive airports in Europe), the prohibition of building or modernizing any airport within a radius of 100 km, and the prohibition for other airports to introduce fees and other rights lower than those applied by the "El. Venizelos" airport.
On February 22, 2019, the 20-year extension procedure (until 2046) of the concession for the Athens International Airport was successfully concluded for a amount of 1.403 billion euros.
Today, the private shareholders are the Copelouzos group (5%) and PSP - Public Sector Pension Investments of Canada (40%). PSP is represented by its entity AviAlliance, changing its name after the purchase of shares from German builder Hochtief in 2013.
The public shareholders are 25% Hellenic Company of Assets and Participations (HCAP, according to its English acronym and EESIP in Greek) and 30% the Greek Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF, according to its English acronym and TAIPED in Greek), responsible for overseeing the sale of state assets.
The construction of AIA was funded by 45% by a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), the rest from bank loans, European Union grants and the Greek state, and finally shareholder loans and smaller amounts from various sources.
Currently, a public international tender is underway for the sale of 30% of AIA's social capital held by HRADF. The tender has attracted interest from some of the largest international players.
FRAPORT GR AND ITS 14 AIRPORTS
In November 2017, HRADF successfully concluded an international tender for the concession of 14 regional airports in Greece (11 island airports and 3 mainland airports). Specifically, there were two concessions of 40 years to modernize, maintain, manage, and operate two groups of seven regional airports each, concessions granted to Fraport Greece, a consortium of companies composed of Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide and Slentel Limited from the Copelouzos group.
Group A includes the airports of Thessaloniki, Kerkira (Corfu), Kefalonia, Aktio, Zakinthos, Kavala, and Chania (Crete), and Group B the airports of Rhodes, Samos, Skiathos, Mytilene, Mykonos, Santorin, and Kos.
In February 2021, Fraport Greece announced the completion of its four-year infrastructure development program in the 14 regional airports under its management in Greece. Delivered three months ahead of the April 2021 contractual deadline, the airports are fully refurbished, offering new services, greater comfort, and more amenities to Greek and international travelers.
THE OLD, THE NEW, AND THE FUTURE AIRPORT OF PAROS
Airport Type: Public
Owner: Hellenic State
Operator: HCAA - Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority
To support the growth of tourism in Paros, it was decided that there should be a new airport with a runway wide enough to accommodate larger capacity aircraft.
The Paros National Airport, which replaced the old Paros National Airport on July 25, 2016, has a 1,400 meter runway. It now handles much more air traffic than before 2017, when only domestic flights were operated.
The old Paros airport, located a few kilometers south, had been in operation since 1982 and had a 710-meter runway that could not accommodate aircraft carrying large numbers of passengers.
Olympic Air, a subsidiary of Aegean Airlines, funded both the construction of the first phase of the terminal and the infrastructure work of the new airport.
In November 2020, the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority announced that 43 million euros had been obtained from the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSFR) for the improvement and expansion of the new airport, which are to be completed by 2023. These upgrade works will allow the airport to serve international destinations. The work will include a new 12,000m2 terminal, an extended runway of 1,799m, a new control tower, and other facilities.
OPINION / IMPACT
Not everyone agrees on the benefits of having an international airport in Paros. Among the objections, many are based on social and environmental criteria.
It is rightly recommended that a cross-management of this project is necessary to evolve the entire island and to better prepare the infrastructure for the influx of a large number of people. Among other things, there is expected to be denser traffic which will involve the need to put in place efficient waste treatment processes and sustainable solutions for the supply of drinking water. It will also be crucial to preserve and improve the quality of tourism on the island.
For its part, the Paros municipality is looking for ways to promote the new airport as an international gateway for travelers from Schengen and non-Schengen countries, including Israel.
"With this project, the new airport in Paros will be transformed into a transportation hub in the center of the Cyclades. The island will be further improved as a tourist destination, attracting more airlines and flights and offering thousands of visitors an improved passenger experience," the municipality stated.
The municipality expects the new airport to attract new investments for the sustainable development of the island. New jobs should also be created during the construction and after the completion of the airport.
AIR TRAFFIC IN PAROS:
You can see in these graphs the air traffic on the island of Paros since the creation of its airport, taking into account the COVID effect in 2020.
The growth of domestic tourism is evident. However, it is interesting to see the beginnings of the evolution of international traffic.
Source: Hellenic Republic - Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport - * year 2022 incomplete: up to August 2022
Source: Hellenic Republic - Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport - * year 2022 incomplete: up to August 2022
NB1: The types of aircraft currently serving the Paros airport are: Olympic Air's Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, Sky Express's ATR 42/72 (Greece), Astra Airlines's BAe 146 & ATR 42/72 (operations suspended in November 2019), and Travel Service's B737-700 (Smart Wings).
NB2: Since June 8, 2018, Smartwings, a Czech charter company, has been the first operator to regularly fly medium-sized jets to Paros. The flight is performed with a fuel stop at the Santorin airport on the return, as it is not currently available at Paros.