Greece is preparing to launch an international tender for the concession of 22 regional airports, in a move aimed at upgrading infrastructure and accommodating the country’s rapidly growing tourism sector. The call for expressions of interest is expected to be published in the weeks following Easter and before the start of the summer season.
The airports are currently managed by the Greek Civil Aviation Authority and are part of the portfolio of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Authorities have decided to proceed with an open international tender covering all 22 airports as a single concession package, rather than pursuing an alternative plan that had been considered in recent months to attract investors through incentives offered to existing airport concession operators.
That alternative plan would have involved inviting only current concessionaires of Greece’s largest airports to undertake investments in the smaller regional airports in exchange for extensions to their existing concession agreements. However, this model would have required approval from the European Commission, a process expected to take more than a year. Given the rapid increase in international arrivals and the continued expansion of tourism in Greece, officials concluded that such a delay was not feasible. If the upcoming international tender fails to attract sufficient investor interest, Greece may then seek fast-track approval from European authorities to implement the alternative plan.
The 22 airports included in the concession are mostly located on islands and in regional areas across the country. Market estimates suggest that even if passenger traffic at these airports were to double in the future, their combined annual revenues would likely not exceed €65–70 million. At the same time, the investment required to upgrade and modernize the facilities is estimated to start at around €200 million and could increase depending on the scale of infrastructure improvements needed at each location.
The need to increase capacity and improve infrastructure at these regional airports is supported by international forecasts predicting strong growth in global air travel over the coming decades, as well as by projections for continued growth in tourism to Greece. Beyond tourism, upgrading the airports is also seen as important for improving connectivity and services for local communities in remote and island regions.
