Cookies Policy

(Last updated: December 2025)

Purpose
This Cookies Policy explains how Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA, we, us, or our) uses cookies and similar technologies on our websites and digital platforms, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and applicable national legislation.

Data Controller
The controller responsible for the use of cookies and processing of personal data through our Website is Athens International Airport S.A. (AIA), Attiki Odos, Spata, Attica, 19019, Greece.

For any questions related to the processing of your personal data or the exercise of your rights, you may contact our Data Protection Officer (DPO) at privacy@aia.gr.

What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files stored on your device (computer, smartphone or tablet) when you visit a website. They enable the website to recognize your device and remember your actions and preferences.

We also use pixels, also known as tags or web beacons, which are small invisible images embedded in web pages or emails that help us understand how users interact with our content and campaigns.

You can at any time change or withdraw your consent by visiting the Cookies Settings section on our website.

Where We Use Cookies
Cookies and similar technologies are used across AIA’s digital platforms (Websites):

  • www.aia.gr
  • AIA Interactive Communication Platform (AI Chatbot)
  • Corporate online platforms

Why We Use Cookies
We use cookies to:

  • enable core website functionality and improve your browsing experience
  • enhance security and prevent fraudulent activity
  • analyze website performance and usage to optimize our services
  • remember user preferences such as language and accessibility settings
  • provide personalized advertising and promotional content relevant to your interests

Types of Cookies
Cookies differ by duration and purpose.

By Duration

  • Session Cookies: Deleted automatically when you close your browser.
  • Persistent Cookies: Remain stored until expiry or manual deletion.

By Purpose

  • Essential Cookies – Required for the secure and correct operation of our websites and applications. They include authentication and session management cookies, load balancing and security tokens. These cookies do not store personal information and are always active.
  • Preferences Cookies – Allow the website to remember your selections and settings, such as preferred language, accessibility adjustments or whether certain banners or dialogs have been shown. They enhance usability and user experience across sessions.
  • Statistics Cookies – Collect aggregated, anonymized information about how visitors use our website. They help us understand how users interact with the site, identify errors, and improve functionality.
  • Marketing Cookies – Used to deliver relevant advertisements and promotions, measure the effectiveness of campaigns and limit ad repetition. These may include third-party cookies from platforms such as Google, YouTube or Facebook.

If a cookie is used for Marketing or Preference purposes, it is categorized as Marketing/Preferences. This allows us to apply the highest level of consent required for multi-purpose cookies.

Ownership of Cookies

  • First-Party Cookies: Set and controlled by AIA.
  • Third-Party Cookies: Set by external providers (e.g., Google, Facebook, YouTube) to support analytics, advertising or embedded content.

Third parties placing cookies on our Website act as independent data controllers for their processing activities.

Local Storage
We also use the browser’s Local Storage to enable certain functionalities (such as AI chatbot sessions). Non-personal session information is stored temporarily and may be retained for up to two months. Certain persistent identifiers or consent preferences may be stored for longer periods to maintain user settings, improve functionality, or demonstrate compliance with GDPR requirements. These persistent data items are not used for advertising or tracking purposes beyond what is necessary for service functionality.

Legal Basis for Processing

  • Strictly necessary cookies are processed based on Article 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interests) or Article 6(1)(b) GDPR (performance of a contract).
  • All other cookies are used only with your explicit consent under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR.

Non-essential cookies are not activated until you have provided your explicit consent through our Cookies Settings panel. You may modify your choices at any time.

Managing Your Cookies Preferences
When visiting our website, you can select or reject non-essential cookies through our Cookies Banner. Your preferences are stored for 180 days, after which you will be asked to reconfirm them. Our Cookies consent management platform records your consent status and preferences (date, time and type of consent) to demonstrate compliance with GDPR requirements.

You can also manage cookies via your browser settings. Please note that disabling essential cookies may affect the proper functioning of the website.

Third-Party Recipients
Some cookies involve processing by third parties (e.g. Google, Meta, Microsoft). These parties may process data outside the EEA under appropriate safeguards, such as the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). You can learn more about how these providers process your data by reviewing their respective privacy or cookies policies.

Data Retention
Personal data collected through cookies is retained only for as long as necessary for the purposes stated and in accordance with the cookies’ expiry period shown in the table. Once the period expires, data is either deleted or anonymized.

Your Rights
You have the right to request access to your personal data, rectification, erasure (“right to be forgotten”), restriction of processing, data portability and to object to processing, in accordance with Articles 15–22 of the GDPR.

You also have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. You may exercise these rights by contacting our DPO at privacy@aia.gr

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA): www.dpa.gr

Updates to This Policy
We may amend this Policy from time to time. Any updates will be published on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.

Essentials

Cookie Name Description Type Expiry First/Third Party
ApplicationGatewayAffinity
Load-balancing cookie used by Azure Application Gateway to maintain session affinity.
HTTP Session First-party
visid_incap_* Security cookie set by Incapsula to protect the website against malicious traffic. HTTPS 1 year Imperva Incapsula (Third-party)
pcms_cookie_bot_2fee This cookie is used to store user cookie preferences. HTTP 1 year First-party
x-ms-cpim-trans
Microsoft Identity cookie used for transaction management and state.  
HTTP Session First-party
__Secure-ROLLOUT_TOKEN Stores rollout information for server-side updates and feature deployment. HTTP Session First-party
AIA.Authentication* Used for managing user authentication, allowing the site to recognize logged-in users and maintain their authenticated session. HTTPS Session First-party
igate* Session-based cookie for managing user authentication within the IGATE application. HTTP Session First-party
x-ms-cpim-csrf Anti-CSRF token cookie used in Microsoft authentication flows. HTTP Session First-party
ApplicationGatewayAffinityCORS Maintains session affinity for CORS requests via Azure Application Gateway. HTTP Session First-party
ai_session Used by Microsoft Application Insights to collect statistical usage and telemetry information. HTTPS Session First-party
ai_user Used by Microsoft Application Insights to collect statistical usage and telemetry information. HTTPS 1 year First-party
_vfp Used to remember that user has voted in Vote for Parthenon page. HTTP 400 days First-party
concessionaires* Stores partner-specific user preferences or selections. HTTP Session First-party
TS01* Security cookie used by the server to maintain session integrity and detect malicious activity. HTTP Session First-party
x-ms-cpim-cache Microsoft Identity cookie used to store session cache data. HTTP Session First-party
x-ms-gateway-slice Microsoft cookie used for load balancing across server gateways. HTTP Session First-party
_GRECAPTCHA This cookie is set by Google reCAPTCHA and is used to validate that the website user is human and not a bot. HTTP Session Google (Third-party)
incap_ses_* This is an Incapsula DDoS Protection and Web Application Firewall cookie that is used to relate HTTP requests to a certain session. HTTP Session First-party
aia_session_cookie Authentication session cookie used to validate secure logins. HTTP Session First-party
.AspNetCore.Correlation.* Correlation cookie used to link authentication requests and responses securely. HTTPS Session First-party
.AspNetCore.Antiforgery.* This cookie is used by ASP.NET Core to validate that form submissions originate from the authenticated user and the legitimate site. HTTP Session First-party
Identity.External*
Stores external identity authentication information for third-party login.
HTTPS Session First-party
_track_flight_* Used to remember the flights that a user tracks or follows on the website. HTTP 24 hours First-party
__RequestVerificationToken Set by web applications built with ASP.NET MVC. This cookie is used to prevent Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks by verifying that requests made to the server are legitimate and originate from the current user. HTTP Session First-party
.AspNetCore.OpenIdConnect.Nonce.* This cookie is set by ASP.NET Core applications when using OpenID Connect for user authentication. HTTPS Session First-party
TS42ca1e71027 Security-related cookie set by the website’s infrastructure provider. Used to maintain session integrity and protect against malicious activity. HTTP Session First-party
AIA.BCE Temporary cookie used during the parking reservation process. Stores selection data such as location or timeslot to ensure completion of the booking flow. HTTPS Session First-party
ASP.NET_SessionId Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. HTTP Session First-party

Marketing/Preferences

Cookie Name Description Type Expiry First/Third Party
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA YouTube sets this cookie to store the user's cookie consent state for the current domain. HTTP Persistent cookie YouTube (Third-party)
yt-remote-cast-installed Indicates whether the YouTube Cast feature is installed on the device. HTTP Persistent cookie YouTube (Third-party)
yt.innertube::nextId Stores the next request ID in YouTube’s internal request queue. HTTP Session YouTube (Third-party)
__Secure-YEC YouTube cookie used for personalized tracking and ad delivery. HTTPS Persistent cookie YouTube (Third-party)
fbp Facebook Pixel cookie used to deliver advertising and measure ad performance. HTTPS 90 days Facebook (Third-party)
_gcl_au Used by Google AdSense to store and track conversions across websites, measuring ad performance and user interactions with ads. HTTP 90 days Google (Third-party)
_fbp Set by Facebook to display advertisements when either on Facebook or on a digital platform powered by Facebook advertising, after visiting the website. HTTP 3 months Facebook (Third-party)
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE Set by YouTube to measure a user’s bandwidth and determine whether they receive the new or old player interface. HTTP 180 days YouTube (Third-party)
yt-remote-connected-devices Tracks connected remote devices associated with a user’s YouTube session. HTTP Persistent cookie YouTube (Third-party)
ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY Stores the ID of the last clicked search result in embedded YouTube components. Used for maintaining session-specific video navigation data. HTTPS Persistent cookie YouTube (Third-party)
YSC YouTube cookie used to track video playback sessions. HTTP Session YouTube (Third-party)
_gclxxxx Google Ads conversion tracking cookie used for measuring advertising performance. HTTP 90 days Google (Third-party)
_gcl_gs This cookie is set by Google Ads and is part of the Google Conversion Linker functionality. It helps track ad clicks and conversions across domains. HTTP 90 days Google (Third-party)
yt-remote-fast-check-period Facilitates fast connectivity checks for YouTube remote sessions. HTTP Session YouTube (Third-party)
yt-remote-session-name Maintains the name of the current YouTube remote session. HTTP Session YouTube (Third-party)
yt.innertube::requests Internal cookie used by YouTube for managing API requests. HTTP Session YouTube (Third-party)
_gac_UA-* This cookie is set by Google Ads in combination with Google Analytics and stores campaign information in order to provide better attribution of ad clicks and conversion tracking when Google Ads and Google Analytics are linked. HTTP 90 days Google (Third-party)
yt-remote-device-id Identifies the user's remote device for YouTube remote playback functionality. HTTP Persistent cookie YouTube (Third-party)
yt-remote-session-app Stores the state of the YouTube remote session application. HTTP Session YouTube (Third-party)
_gcl_aw Used by Google Ads to provide ad delivery or retargeting. HTTP 90 days Google (Third-party)

Statistics

Cookie Name Description Type Expiry First/Third Party
rc::c reCAPTCHA cookie that tracks user interaction for bot detection purposes. HTTP Session Google (Third-party)
_gid Google Analytics cookie used to distinguish users within 24 hours. HTTP 24 hours Google (Third-party)
_ga* Google Analytics cookie used to distinguish unique users across sessions. HTTP 24 hours Google (Third-party)
_ga Google Analytics cookie used for identifying unique users and tracking website analytics. HTTP 2 years Google (Third-party)
rc::a reCAPTCHA cookie used to distinguish human users from automated bots. HTTP Session Google (Third-party)