Nea Anchialos National Airport: Welcomed the First Flight for 2026

The first passengers were welcomed with local treats by a delegation from the Region of Thessaly, led by Deputy Regional Governor for Tourism, Mrs. Natasa Adamopoulou, while gifts also awaited the crew members of the first flight. The delegation also included Mrs. Amalia Gravani, Special Regional Councillor for the Sporades, as well as Mrs. Euphrosyne Tentoma, Director of the Directorate of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Region of Thessaly.
 

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Following the brief welcome ceremony, Mrs. Adamopoulou stated: “It is with great pleasure that we welcomed today at Nea Anchialos Airport the first Eurowings flight from Düsseldorf, marking the beginning of this year’s tourist season for Thessaly.
The air connection with the German market represents an important bridge for extroversion and the strengthening of our tourism product, as Germany remains one of the key markets of interest for our region. The Region of Thessaly continues consistently its efforts to promote and strengthen our area’s air connections, substantially supporting Nea Anchialos Airport and the overall tourism development of Thessaly.
Within this framework, the Region of Thessaly has already prepared for its participation in the leading airports and air connectivity conference, Routes Europe 2026, which will take place in Rimini, Italy, from May 18 to 20. We have already scheduled a significant number of meetings with airline companies, and by the end of the month we expect to have a clearer picture regarding the flights that will serve Nea Anchialos Airport in 2027.
During today’s welcome event, we offered the first visitors of the flight local products such as tsipouro, valuable herbs from Thessaly, and traditional halva from Farsala, giving them from the very first moment an authentic taste of the hospitality and gastronomic identity of our region.
I would also like to warmly thank Mr. Athanasios Archontis from Archontis Pastry Shop in Farsala, as well as the Agricultural Producers’ Cooperative of Nea Anchialos ‘I Dimitra’, for their valuable contribution in supporting today’s initiative and helping create a wonderful welcome for our visitors.
I would also like to thank all the institutions and individuals contributing to the operation and upgrading of the airport, especially Airport Manager Mr. Athanasios Kasioras, as well as Eurowings for its trust in Thessaly as a destination. We welcome the first visitors of the season with optimism and the well-known Thessalian hospitality.”

For his part, the Airport Manager of Nea Anchialos emphasized that arrivals concern both organized holiday packages and individual travelers. Among the charter flights that will be operated this year are Club Med flights from Paris, flights from Brno in the Czech Republic, as well as the new connection from Katowice in Poland, which is the most significant new addition to this year’s schedule. At the same time, regular flights continue to serve both tourism and the travel needs of Thessaly residents to European destinations. This year’s schedule includes Ryanair flights to Brussels starting on June 1, the connection with Düsseldorf, which this year is being reinforced with a second weekly flight during the peak summer season, as well as the domestic route to Heraklion operated by Sky Express. 

As Mr. Kasioras added, the major “challenge” of this year’s season is to maintain the high occupancy rates of previous years, despite international economic conditions and increases in the cost of airline tickets and travel packages. He estimated that, so far, bookings do not appear to have been significantly affected, although rising prices may influence demand in the coming period.

The full flight schedule will be in operation from early June until the end of October. With the addition of a second Eurowings flight in July and August, subsidized by the Region of Thessaly, the total number of weekly flights will reach eight.