Volotea to close Athens base, to develop current codeshare deal with Aegean
Spanish airline Volotea has announced it is to shut down its base in Athens, Greece at the end of the summer of 2025. The move will end six years of based operations for the carrier at Athens International Airport (ATH) although the budget airline will continue flying into and out of the airport through services offered from other cities on the current Volotea network.
The announcement came as a surprise to many as the carrier has been steadily expanding its network from Athens and broadening its profile in the Greek market over recent years. The airline provides direct flights from Athens to 16 different locations across Europe with the launch of new all-year-round flights to Marseille and Lyon from Athens in 2023 contributing to Volotea’s continuing growth in Athens. In 2024, the carrier also added a range of new European destinations such as Naples, Brest, and Split from the airport.
Greece had been the smallest of Volotea’s 21 bases in 2024, equating to just 0.7% of its scheduled weekly capacity. More than 90% of the airline’s scheduled weekly capacity is focused on routes to airports in France, Italy, and Spain. Only in early 2024, the airline unveiled plans to increase its capacity from Athens by 13% compared to 2023 and to offer more than 1.6 million seats across Greece for the year.
Markus Mainka / ShutterstockThe airline’s presence in Athens was a significant contributor to the success of European flights from Athens with the airline employing over 500 people in its operation from the airport. To support the Volotea employees who will be affected by the closure of the airline’s base, Greek airline SKY Express issued a statement encouraging those affected to consider applying for positions within its expanding team in Athens.
Despite the closure of the airline’s Athens base, Volotea has committed to continuing the building of its current codeshare arrangement with Greece’s largest carrier Aegean Airlines. The Greek carrier has been a commercial partner of Volotea since 2021 and a full codeshare partner since September 2024. Through the signing of the codeshare agreement, the two airlines expanded their commercial relationship and established a long-term strategic partnership to improve connectivity in Greece and increase their joint presence across Europe.
Markus Mainka / ShutterstockUnder the codeshare agreement, Volotea offers direct flights to 16 destinations under its own code, along with another 16 destinations under Aegean’s code (AEE). Jointly, the partnership will continue to provide more than 100 routes across Europe using either its own aircraft or through partner airlines.
According to the Volotea website, the airline carried 70 million passengers in 2024 on 450 routes to over 100 destinations across 18 countries. The airline will have 20 bases across Europe once Athens closes, with those located in Asturias, Bari, Bilbao, Bordeaux, Brest, Florence, Hamburg, Lille, Lourdes, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Naples, Olbia, Palermo, Rodez, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Venice, and Verona all due to remain operational. The airline operates a fleet of 45 Airbus narrowbody aircraft including 20 A319s and 25 A320s and employs over 2,000 people.
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The post Volotea to close Athens base, to develop current codeshare deal with Aegean appeared first on AeroTime.
Spanish airline Volotea has announced it is to shut down its base in Athens, Greece at the end…
The post Volotea to close Athens base, to develop current codeshare deal with Aegean appeared first on AeroTime.