Athens International Airport (ATH) handled 30,520,513 passengers between January and October 2026, 4.1% more than in the same months of 2025, according to provisional statistics from its operator. The total puts the Greek hub ahead of the pace of 2025, a year the operator’s chief executive described as “reaching record levels of 34 million passengers.”

The figures come from Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA), which published its October data in its “Passenger Traffic Development 2026” statistics. October alone brought 3,210,367 passengers, up 2.4% on October 2025. The comparable January to October 2025 total was 29,328,762 passengers. AIA notes that the October figures are provisional and that monthly data is finalised after the 20th of the following month.

How the year built up month by month

Both segments grew. From January to October, AIA counted 21,861,044 international passengers, up 4.1%, and 8,659,469 domestic passengers, up 3.9%. In October, international traffic rose 2.6% and domestic traffic 1.8%.

Growth varied by quarter. In its 9M 2026 Trading Update of October 27, 2026, AIA reported growth of 8.1% in the first quarter, 2.2% in the second and 4.0% in the third. January traffic rose 8.6% to 1,992,548 passengers and February rose 13.2% to 1,982,622, while April grew 1.0%, with international passengers down 0.9% that month.

In the summer, July brought 3,932,400 passengers, up 4.7%, and August 4,027,701, up 3.7%. AIA said third-quarter traffic held up despite geopolitical tensions and a two-day runway closure in September for resurfacing. September traffic reached 3,599,857 passengers, up 3.5%. The airport has two runways, 03R/21L at 13,123 feet and 03L/21R at 12,467 feet, according to the AirPro Atlas.

More passengers, lower profit

Profit moved the other way in 2026. For the nine months to September 30, 2026, AIA reported total revenues and other income of €530.0 million, up 0.6%, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of €331.2 million, down 1.3%, and net profit of €173.5 million, down 6.6% from €185.8 million.

Revenue from air activities fell 1.0% to €393.6 million. AIA said the decline reflects a 30% temporary discount on the Passenger Terminal Facility charge, in place from October 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, which aligns 2026 profitability with the 15% return-on-equity cap following the depletion of the Carry Forward amount. Non-air revenues rose 5.4% to €136.4 million, which the company attributed to commercial performance, the passenger mix in the Extra-Schengen area and food and beverage improvements in the Intra-Schengen area.

Operating expenses rose 4.2% to €187.6 million. AIA listed inflation, mandated minimum wage increases, added staff and outsourced resources for traffic growth, and the EU Entry-Exit System among the drivers. The company said the results are in line with its short-term targets.

A record 2025 and the expansion behind it

AIA was established on June 12, 1996, as a public-private partnership and began operations on March 28, 2001. The company, which describes itself as Greece’s largest aviation hub, holds a concession that runs until June 11, 2046.

In 2025 the airport handled 34.0 million passengers, up 6.7% from 31.9 million in 2024, according to AIA’s Financial Results for FY 2025, published on March 24, 2026. That year, Athens had direct scheduled service to 164 destination cities in 55 countries, operated by 70 airlines. In the October trading update, AIA said it ranks as the 8th most connected hub in Europe in the OAG 2026 Rankings.

Alongside the traffic growth, AIA is carrying out its expansion to 40 million passengers by 2032. The company puts the Airport Expansion Programme at approximately €1.3 billion at 2024 prices, deployed from 2025 through 2032, with up to 50% of spending expected by 2028. The plan adds approximately 150,000 square meters to the Main Terminal Building and Satellite Terminal Building, a 68% increase, along with a multi-storey car park of approximately 3,365 positions and a North-West Apron with 32 Code C aircraft stands.

What AIA expects for the rest of 2026

In its March 24 results, AIA forecast low single-digit passenger traffic growth for 2026 and projected net income of approximately €200 million. In the October 27 trading update, the company wrote: “we reaffirm our guidance for mid-single-digit passenger traffic growth in 2026.” It described the outlook for the rest of the year as relatively modest, citing elevated fuel prices.

On the expansion, AIA said in October that work on the Multi-Storey Car Park and North West Apron is progressing, that work on a new VIP facility has started and that the first apron phase is expected to finish by the end of 2026. The South Pier expansion tender was launched on October 26, 2026, with construction scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027, and a design office is being mobilised for the North Wing expansion tender.

easyJet (U2) shareholders approved the £7.15-per-share cash takeover by Apollo-backed Eagle Bidco Ltd on November 11, 2026, clearing both shareholder votes and leaving court sanction and regulatory approvals as the remaining steps before a completion that easyJet expects before the end of the first quarter of 2027.

In a regulatory announcement titled “Result of Meeting,” published on November 11, 2026, easyJet said the scheme of arrangement won 97.07% of the shares voted at the Court Meeting and 96.67% of the votes cast at the General Meeting. The deal, whose terms the boards agreed on August 6, 2026, values easyJet’s entire issued and to be issued share capital at approximately £5.7 billion, according to the original offer announcement.

How the votes were counted

The Court Meeting required a majority in number of the scheme shareholders voting, representing 75% or more in value of the shares voted. According to the announcement, 289 shareholders (83.29% by number) voted in favour and 58 (16.71%) voted against, with 13 shareholders splitting their votes and counted on both sides. In all, 334 shareholders voted 295,889,610 shares, or 39.03% of the eligible share capital. The General Meeting resolution, which also amends easyJet’s articles, needed at least 75% of the votes cast. It received 247,835,560 votes in favour out of 256,364,323, with 387,424 votes withheld.

European ownership rules shaped the count. easyJet said EU persons held 35.07% of its shares at the time of the General Meeting, and it suspended the voting rights of 233,921,894 “Affected Shares” held by non-EU persons; the poll results reflect that suspension. The company had 758,010,025 shares in issue at the Voting Record Time of 6.30 p.m. on November 9, 2026, and held none in treasury.

easyJet said the shareholder conditions, numbered 2(a) and 2(b), are now satisfied. The resolution will be filed with the Financial Conduct Authority and made available on the National Storage Mechanism.

What still has to happen

The scheme still needs the Court’s sanction and the other conditions set out when the deal was announced on August 6, 2026. That announcement listed approvals or confirmations of non-objection from the regulators of easyJet’s aviation licences, with no written notice of intent to suspend or revoke a licence; merger control approvals in Austria, Egypt, Germany and the UK; and foreign direct investment approvals in Austria, France, Italy, Malta, Spain and the UK.

The timetable is set against the date of the Sanction Hearing, which easyJet expects before the end of the first calendar quarter of 2027. The last day of dealings in easyJet shares would be one business day after the hearing, the scheme would become effective two business days after it, and the listing would be cancelled by 8.00 a.m. three business days after it. Cash consideration is due within 14 calendar days of the effective date. The Long Stop Date is 11.59 p.m. on August 6, 2027.

How the Apollo offer is structured

AirPro News reported on the £5.7 billion Apollo agreement in August. Eagle Bidco is indirectly owned by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Capital Management, L.P. The August 6 announcement put the £7.15 price at a premium of approximately 81% to easyJet’s closing price of £3.94 on the Unaffected Date, as the announcement defines it.

Shareholders could instead choose an Alternative Offer of unlisted Rollover Shares in a Bidco parent company, one for each easyJet share, subject to a cap of 49.9% of Topco’s issued share capital and to scaling back. The Haji-Ioannou Family Concert Party gave irrevocable undertakings to vote in favour and to elect for the Alternative Offer over 116,061,871 easyJet shares, about 15.31% of the total.

The ownership plan is built around airline ownership and control rules. After completion, the August announcement said, Topco is expected to be owned 45.1% to 49.9% by Rollover Shareholders, up to 5% by an EU Trust and the balance, up to 49.9%, by the Apollo funds, with governing documents that include provisions to keep the structure compliant.

The easyJet directors, advised by Evercore, unanimously recommended that shareholders vote for the scheme and called the cash offer fair and reasonable. They made no recommendation on the Alternative Offer, saying they could not determine whether its terms were fair and reasonable. The scheme document was published on October 15, 2026.

Jacobs (NYSE: J) has been appointed by Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) to prepare a 25-year master plan for Cochin International Airport (COK) in Kochi, Kerala, India. The plan will guide long-term development at an airport that CIAL describes as the world’s first fully solar-powered airport and that handled 11,442,583 passengers in the 2025-26 financial year.

Jacobs announced the appointment in a press release distributed by Business Wire from Dallas on November 11, 2026. According to the release, the plan is intended to increase capacity, improve operations and sustainability, and reinforce the airport’s role as a gateway for tourism and economic activity in the region. The release does not disclose the value of the contract or a schedule for the plan.

What the master plan covers

Beyond infrastructure planning, Jacobs will develop an environmental and social impact assessment framework to guide future development at the airport. The release says the framework will help CIAL balance daily operations with sustainability and community priorities.

Jacobs will lead the master planning from its India operations, with support from specialists in the United Kingdom. The company has supported infrastructure and industrial development in India for more than 50 years and has more than 4,100 professionals across eight offices in the country, according to the release.

Sinead Giblin, Executive Vice President at Jacobs, said strategic aviation infrastructure is essential to “supporting regional connectivity,” economic growth and sustainable development. She said the plan will prepare the airport for future passenger and cargo demand and build on its leadership in sustainable operations.

CIAL Airport Director Manu G called the 25-year plan “a significant milestone” in shaping the company’s long-term vision and future growth. He said CIAL looks forward to working with Jacobs and hopes to make Kerala a leader in sustainable and resilient development.

The airport behind the plan

Cochin International Airport began operations on May 25, 1999, and CIAL says it was India’s first airport built under a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The company is not publicly listed. According to CIAL, it has 19,000 investors from 28 countries, most of them expatriate Keralites, and the Government of Kerala is the largest investor with a stake of about 34%.

The airport sits 28 km northeast of downtown Kochi on a site of about 1,300 acres. CIAL lists three terminals: a domestic terminal, a business jet terminal and an international terminal, Terminal 3, which opened in March 2017. Their combined peak-hour handling capacity is 8,000 passengers, according to the company. The AirPro Atlas records a single runway, 09/27, 11,155 feet long and 148 feet wide; CIAL gives its dimensions as 3,400 meters by 45 meters.

Solar power is central to the airport’s profile. CIAL inaugurated a dedicated solar plant at the airport in 2015 and puts its cumulative installed solar capacity at 50 megawatt-peak (MWp) across seven plants at the airport, a solar carport and a plant at Payyanur. The United Nations named CIAL a Champion of the Earth in 2018 for its solar work, according to the company.

Traffic, finances and a consultancy arm

In its results for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, CIAL reported 73,134 aircraft movements alongside its passenger total. It was the fourth consecutive financial year in which the airport handled more than one crore (10 million) passengers. Total revenue was Rs 1,220 crore, up 6.6% year on year, and net profit rose from Rs 499 crore to Rs 502 crore, the first time the company’s annual profit has exceeded Rs 500 crore.

CIAL’s board also approved the company’s entry into the airport consultancy business. CIAL said it plans to offer services to airports across India, citing expected investment of more than Rs 50,000 crore in the sector over the following decade. Its proposed portfolio includes airport master planning, runway development, cargo infrastructure, ground handling, duty-free operations, commercial development and real estate management.

Jacobs’ airport portfolio

Jacobs says it is ranked No. 1 in aviation by Engineering News-Record for the second consecutive year and delivers work at more than 150 airports worldwide. In India, it is the program management consultant for phase one of Noida International Airport, which Jacobs calls “India’s first net-zero emissions greenfield airport.” That phase covers a terminal, runway, taxiways, cargo facilities and ancillary buildings on a 3,296-acre site, according to Jacobs.

Its other airport work includes concept validation and runway design for King Salman International Airport, which Jacobs says is designed to handle up to 100 million passengers a year, and an intelligent aviation infrastructure engagement at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) with PA Consulting. Jacobs, headquartered in Dallas, reports about $12 billion in annual revenue and about 47,000 employees.