In 2023, Chania International Airport “Daskalogiannis” (IATA: CHQ, ICAO: LGSA) saw a total of 3,580,603 passengers passing through its gates, marking a notable 10.9% increase from the previous year’s 3,229,335, as reported by the official data from Fraport Greece.
The most recent findings from the Crete Aviation Observatory (CAO) Aviation Industry Research at Chania International Airport highlight the prevalence of arrivals from Britain, Germany, and Scandinavia, showcasing their prominence in contributing to the airport’s traffic.
The countries with the highest number of aircraft arrivals during the specified period are as follows (in number of aircraft and percentage of total arrivals):
- United Kingdom (1503 aircraft, 20%)
- Denmark (1063 aircraft, 14%)
- Germany (1014 aircraft, 13.3%)
- Norway (966 aircraft, 12.7%)
- Poland (752 aircraft, 9.8%)
- Finland (692 aircraft, 9.1%)
- Sweden (685 aircraft, 9%)
- Italy (363 aircraft, 4.7%)
- Hungary (290 aircraft, 3.8%)
- France (277 aircraft, 3.6%)
During the summer months, the leading operators (airlines) serving Chania airport were Ryanair Group (Lauda Motion, Buzz Air), easyJet, TUI Group, SAS Scandinavian Airlines, AEGEAN, British Airways, Condor, Jet2.com, Sunclass, and Transavia.
The findings from the Observatory of the Aviation Sector of Crete reveal that the top ten data points align with the top five data points from the managing company of Chania airport (Fraport Greece) by 80% for the month of July 2023.
Multiple wide-body aircraft returned to the airport this year, representing several air carriers. This clearly indicates the growing demand for air travel and passenger capacity. This surge in activity is a direct result of the significant increase in tourist demand following two years of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-related restrictions and various structural shifts within the aviation industry.
Notably, the cutting-edge Airbus A350 made its inaugural appearance at Chania Airport this year. In terms of overall aircraft operations at the airport, the Airbus A320 family (including the A319, A320, and A321), as well as the Airbus A320neo variants (A320neo, A321neo), hold a dominant position, followed by the Boeing 737 and Boeing 737 MAX aircraft family with a comparatively smaller presence, particularly during July. Helicopters and wide-body aircraft comprise a smaller percentage of the overall aircraft carriers.