Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos

AIA originated in the late 1990s as a replacement for the now-closed Athens (Ellinkon) International Airport, which had reached capacity and had no prospects for further growth. As the city was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, it became apparent that a new airport was needed. As such, the government selected Hochtief of Germany as a build-own-operate-transfer partner, with a 30-year concession agreement established in 1996. The airport officially opened on March 28th, 2001, at the cost of 2.1 billion euros. As it features two parallel runways that are 2.5 and 2.4 miles long, it has approval front he European Aviation Safety Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration for servicing Airbus A380 flights, with the first such scheduled flight taking place via Emirates on October 26th, 2012. From 2009 to 2013, the Greek government debt crisis reduced traffic at AIA to just over 12.5 million passengers in 2013, which was 25% lower than the all-time high in 2007. This was largely due to many airlines terminating service to the airport or only operating seasonally, as well as the closure of Olympic Airlines, the operator of many long-haul flights servicing AIA. Recovery began in 2014, with ten new airlines servicing AIA. Notably, Ryanair established a base at the airport and added eight destinations, while Aegean Airlines increased its destinations by 30%. Other airlines that increased their flight frequency were Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways. At the same time, American Airlines retained seasonal services while increasing connectivity, and Delta Air Lines resumed their weekly flights. These changes brought the passenger total to 15.1 million in 2014. The following year, AIA broke its record for passengers served, with close to 18.1 million. This was largely brought about by a rise of over 38% in transfer passengers (and an over 60% increase in international-to-international transfer traffic), which was enabled by the increased connectivity at AIA. By 2016, AIA passed the 20 million annual passenger mark, which rose again in 2017 to 21.7 million and 2018 to 24.1 million passengers. Aircraft traffic set a record that year as well, with 217,094 aircraft movements.

The airport is located between the towns of Markopoulo, Koropi, Spata, and Loutsa, 12 miles to the east of central Athens (although it is 19 miles by road due to intervening hills). 

• AIA is currently a member of Group 1 of the Airports Council International (over 25 million passengers served annually) and is the 15th-busiest airport in Europe. 
• There are two robotic systems named Hercules and Ulysses that are tasked with handling potentially dangerous materials at the airport, donated by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. 
• There is a Sofitel on airport premises for those needing a place to stay overnight.