Aegean Airlines and its wholly-owned regional subsidiary Olympic Air reported a combined group net loss of €3.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, as fuel costs and Middle East disruption on the international network outweighed a 6% rise in domestic traffic across Greece, the Athens-based group said on September 14.
The result reversed a €47.9 million net profit in the prior-year period. Pre-tax result swung to a loss of €5.7 million from a €66.0 million profit a year earlier, EBIT dropped 35% to €38.5 million, and EBITDA fell 7% year on year to €145.3 million, on group revenue up 4% to €816.6 million. Higher fuel prices and emissions allowance costs had a combined net negative impact of €40 million, even after the benefit of hedging.
Geopolitical developments in the Middle East affected part of the group's international network directly, with flights suspended for four months from March through June, disrupting both point-to-point traffic and connecting passenger flows through Athens.
Passenger numbers nonetheless rose 3% to 7.8 million across the group, with available seats up 3% to 9.7 million and load factor at 80.3%, down from 81.1% a year earlier.
Domestic traffic, the segment most directly reliant on Olympic Air's turboprop network alongside Aegean's own mainland and island jet routes, grew 6% to 3.28 million passengers, supported by continued strong demand for Greek destinations.
International traffic was broadly flat at 4.49 million, absorbing the bulk of the Middle East disruption.
Olympic Air, which Aegean absorbed in 2013 and which operates under its own brand from hubs at Athens, Rhodes and Thessaloniki, underpins that domestic resilience with a turboprop fleet of 12 ATR 72-600s, three ATR 42-600s and two De Havilland Dash 8-100s serving island and thin regional routes, many under public service obligation contracts.
The subsidiary took delivery of an additional ATR 72-600 in October 2025 and has two more on order for December 2026, part of a group renewal programme running to March 2027 that will also see the remaining Dash 8-100s phased out.
Group cash, cash equivalents and other financial investments stood at €956.1 million at the half-year end, up €114 million year on year, despite the payment of an €81.1 million dividend in May.
The €40 million fuel and emissions hit alone is equivalent to roughly a quarter of first-half EBITDA, a reminder that regional feed can cushion but not offset a mainline cost shock of that scale.
