SKY express: Strengthening its presence in Cyprus even more, two years on

SKY express, with the support of Hermes Airports, recently celebrated the second anniversary of its presence in Cyprus.

An announcement from the airline noted that it had two years ago chosen Cyprus as its first international and has ever since linked the island to Greece, and the rest of the world, with its daily connections.

The 30 March anniversary event coincided with the delivery of the airline’s first AIRBUS Α321neo, Ioannis Grylos, Founder & Chairman of IOGR Group, to which SKY express belongs, announced that the new plane would be named ‘Kypros’ (Cyprus).

Dignitaries attending the 30 March event included Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis, and Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport Yiannis Nicolaides, amongst others.

An announcement on the occasion of the anniversary noted that even during the pandemic, SKY express emerged a winner as the only company that continued to fly and maintain an air connection to all of its destinations.

During the anniversary event, SKY express, meanwhile, also presented some of its facts and figures since 2021, when it first began contributing to the value of Larnaka International Airport.

Within two years, SKY express has achieved second place at Larnaka International Airport with a market share of 16% and carrying 411,000 passengers.

More specifically,

• 3 flights from Athens daily all year round – 4,000 flights within two years
• 390,000 passengers from/to Athens
• 230 flights from/to Thessaloniki, 21,000 passengers

It is worth noting that, for 2023, SKY express is anticipated to be going to transport around 320,000 thousand passengers to and from Athens and Thessaloniki, and Cyprus.

According to the airline, SKY express, with its year-round presence, offers more options to the travelling public with new connections, more itineraries and quality services, while contributing to healthy competition and the creation of more competitive fares. By choosing Cyprus as its first international destination, SKY express has demonstrated its determination to invest in the island's prospects in the long-term.

In this context, this includes the operation of the ground handling subsidiary of the IOGR Group, Skyserv, at Larnaka International Airport, thanks to which it registered comparatively fewest problems during a period characterised as very demanding for all Europe’s airports. In total, the IOGR Group currently employs more than 300 workers in Larnaca and Paphos.

By strengthening the connectivity of Cyprus, SKY express also gives an even greater boost to the Cypriot tourism product and supports entrepreneurship and the Cypriot economy as a whole.

The airline also noted that 2022 was a special year for SKY express:

• Total flights in 2022 were increased by almost 50% to exceed 49,000, covering 34 domestic and 24 international destinations.
• The company's passengers in 2022 almost tripled, reaching 3,500,000, reflecting the introduction of two AIRBUS A320neo into the fleet.
• In 2022, the company's total revenue more than tripled, reaching €262 million, driven by the higher growth of international flights.
• Average occupancy improved by 20 percentage points during 2022 demonstrating the dynamism of the company's commercial proposition, its operational efficiency, but also contributing to the return of tourist traffic close to 2019 levels.
• It emerged as the European company with the largest increase in flying work, according to Eurocontrol.
• It is the only Greek airline that became an international Google case study. The use of the most advanced tools (travel insights) ranked SKY express among the top three European airlines that increased their online traffic compared to 2019.

It is also worth noting that, with the addition of the first two AIRBUS A321neos to its fleet in 2023, SKY express will continue to have the newest, greenest fleet in Greece and one of the most environmentally friendly in Europe. A fleet that respects the Cypriot sky and contributes to the protection of the country's natural wealth: less CO2, 50% lower noise footprint, 25% lower fuel consumption.

As Gerasimos Skaltsas, Chief Commercial Officer of SKY express, emphasises: "In the midst of the crisis, SKY express created a new era in air transport on the island. Today, two years later, we are strengthening our presence in Cyprus even more. We are working so that SKY express continues to lead the development in the field of aviation, supporting the Cypriot economy and society with new ideas, services, products and qualified personnel. The response of the Cypriot passenger public moves us. In addition, we cannot fail to make a special mention of the more than 100 travel agencies with which we cooperated during 2022 and are, for us, important and strategic partners, as it is our intention to always be by their side. For this reason, our cooperation is based on the flexible commercial policy of our company, which is reinforced at regular intervals with seasonal offers, which we implement systematically in Cyprus and which receive a great acceptance and response. Everyone's trust is our strength. We continue together!".

The CEO of Hermes Airports, Eleni Kalogirou, meanwhile, comments: "At Hermes we have as a strategic priority the development of connectivity both by attracting new airlines and by adding routes or increasing the existing ones and this can easily be understood if one looks back at our 15-year history. We look forward to a close collaboration with SKY express in the coming years as well, so that, together, we can further develop the connectivity of Cyprus and other destinations, beyond Greece."