Login
Greece Welcomes Increased Romanian Travel With Nine New Direct Flights From Romania Set To Launch For Summer 2026, Boosting Connectivity
Greece is set to welcome a surge in Romanian travel with the launch of nine new direct flights from Romania for the summer of 2026. This expansion is designed to improve connectivity, making it easier for Romanian tourists to visit Greece and further cement the country’s status as a top destination for travelers from Romania. By offering more convenient and direct travel options, Greece is positioning itself to attract even more visitors and strengthen bilateral tourism ties.
Animawings is making an early move for the summer 2026 season by launching new direct flights from Romania to Greek destinations, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Kavala, and Kefalonia. These flights will begin operating in late March, a strategic decision that reflects the airline’s focus on shoulder season travel and enhancing connectivity to Northern Greece. This early planning is indicative of a well-thought-out strategy to tap into the growing demand for travel outside the peak summer months and strengthen Romania’s ties with Greece.
Animawings’ initiative for summer 2026 reveals the airline’s clear intention to expand Greece’s presence in its network. The new routes will provide both major urban centers and regional destinations, offering a balance between high-demand cities like Athens and Thessaloniki and lesser-known gems such as Kavala and Kefalonia. Notably, the airline is aiming to open up new direct access to Northern Greece, especially Kavala, which appears for the second time within Animawings’ network, reinforcing its strategy to promote regional Greek destinations that are growing in popularity among Eastern European travelers.
The timing of the new routes is significant. Animawings is launching many of these connections in late March and early April, providing an early gateway to Greece for tourists who prefer to travel before the summer rush. This move is strategic in targeting the shoulder months of the season—periods before and after the peak summer season—thereby spreading out the tourism demand and reducing the overcrowding often seen during the height of summer. In this way, Animawings is working to enhance travel experiences by providing more options and accessibility during these quieter months, which are often overlooked by other carriers.
For the 2026 summer season, Animawings is introducing two new direct routes from Bucharest. One will fly to Kavala, operating once a week from June 1 to September 28, while the other will fly to Thessaloniki, with weekly flights available from June 6 to September 26. In addition to these Bucharest routes, new direct connections will also be introduced from other Romanian cities, including Cluj, Iași, and Timișoara. From Cluj, Animawings will begin flying to Athens on March 29, with two weekly flights, and to Thessaloniki, starting on April 4 with one weekly flight. Iași will see a new connection to Thessaloniki, operating once a week from June 6 to September 26. Meanwhile, Timișoara will be connected to several key Greek cities, including Athens, Thessaloniki, Kavala, and Kefalonia, at different times throughout the summer season. A twice-weekly service from Timișoara to Athens will begin on March 29, while flights to Kavala will operate once a week from June 8 to September 28. Additionally, there will be services from Timișoara to Kefalonia (from June 4 to September 24) and Thessaloniki (starting April 4), all of which will be serviced by A220-300 aircraft.
The current flight offerings between Bucharest and Athens are provided by several airlines, including Aegean Airlines, which operates 1-2 daily flights, and TAROM with one daily service. Starting March 29, 2026, Wizz Air Malta will also begin operating on this route.
Animawings’ expansion into Greece is part of a larger trend in Romania, where there has been a consistent and growing interest in Greek tourism, especially to Northern Greece. This has been facilitated by both road and air travel options, with Romania emerging as a key contributor to Greek tourism from non-eurozone countries. Despite a downturn in the first half of 2025, data shows that Romania’s tourism flows to Greece have rebounded in the summer months, further confirming the importance of the summer season for sustaining Greece’s tourism economy.
Data from the Bank of Greece shows that in the first six months of 2025, there was a significant decline in arrivals from non-eurozone countries like Romania and Bulgaria. However, this trend reversed during the peak summer months, as arrivals from these countries rose by 5.6% in July and 6.8% in August. This reversal highlights the significant role the summer season plays in sustaining overall demand for Greek tourism, particularly from emerging markets like Romania.
The importance of Romania to Greece’s tourism industry is reflected in the 2024 statistics, which show that approximately 1.4 million Romanian tourists visited Greece. These visitors contributed to 6.65 million overnight stays, generating €558 million in total spending. The average expenditure per Romanian tourist was €396, with an average spend of €83.90 per night. The average length of stay for these visitors was 4.7 days, demonstrating that Romania is a significant source of both short-term and long-term tourism for Greece.
Greece is set to boost connectivity with Romania by launching nine new direct flights for the summer of 2026, making travel easier and enhancing tourism between the two countries.
The launch of these new routes by Animawings underscores the airline’s efforts to strengthen its network and provide greater access to Greece, particularly in the shoulder months, when demand for travel to Greek destinations is still on the rise but not as congested. By focusing on both major cities and regional destinations, Animawings is tapping into the growing trend of tourists seeking more authentic and less crowded destinations. As travel patterns evolve and more tourists look beyond the peak summer months, these new routes are likely to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of tourism between Romania and Greece.
The post Greece Welcomes Increased Romanian Travel With Nine New Direct Flights From Romania Set To Launch For Summer 2026, Boosting Connectivity appeared first on Travel And Tour World.
