The airport’s noise monitoring station, named after Artemida (NMT 5), recorded 1,495 noise events caused by aircraft in August, approximately 48 per day. Most had a peak intensity of between 67 and 72 decibels, and very few came close to 80. In the same month, 5 of the 9 complaints about aircraft noise received by the airport came from Artemida.
The figures are contained in the Athens International Airport’s monthly noise report for August 2026, which was published on 24 September by the Municipality of Rafina–Pikermi. The municipality publishes these reports every month.
Five stations around Artemida
The report provides measurements from nine stations. On its map, five of them (NMT 2 to NMT 6) are marked in or around the village of Artemida, beneath the north-eastern flight paths. However, only one is named after her. The report does not provide addresses.
For each station, there are two average values. Lden is calculated over a full 24-hour period and places greater weight on noise levels during the evening and night. Lnight covers only the period from 23:00 to 07:00. In August, the five stations recorded:
- Agios Ioannis (NMT 3): 8,105 episodes, Lden 62.0, Lnight 43.4
- Vorineza (NMT 2): 2,804 occurrences, Lden 52.7, Lnight 22.4
- Artemida (NMT 5): 1,495 occurrences, Lden 49.6, Lnight 30.6
- Agia Kyriaki (NMT 4): 1,065 occurrences, Lden 53.7, Lnight 47.8
- Agios Nikolaos (NMT 6): 976 episodes, Lden 47.5, Lnight 31.6
‘Agios Ioannis’ station, the one closest to the corridor’s axis on the map, has the highest figures of all nine, exceeding those of Koropi (6,592 incidents, Lden 56.8). At the other end of the scale, Spata station recorded just 3 episodes.
Below the thresholds, above the WHO’s recommendation
In the report’s chart, the limits set by Greek legislation (Joint Ministerial Decision 211773/2012) are 70 decibels for Lden and 60 for Lnight. None of the monitoring stations comes close to these limits.
The World Health Organisation, however, in its 2018 guidelines on environmental noise in Europe, recommends that aircraft noise levels should be below 45 Lden and below 40 decibels for Lnight. In August, all five monitoring stations around Artemida exceeded the Lden guideline. Two of these, Agios Ioannis and Agia Kyriaki, also exceeded the night-time recommendation.
Summer at Artemida Station
The NMT 5 is remaining stable. In June, it recorded 1,115 incidents with an Lden of 49.4; in July, 1,470 with an Lden of 49.9; and in August, 1,495 with an Lden of 49.6. In September 2025, it recorded 1,563 incidents with an Lden of 50.6.
This may change in September. From 23 September to 4 November, the airport will be operating with a single runway 24 hours a day due to construction work, as we reported. The September report is expected in late October and will show whether Artemida’s stations have noticed any difference.
The complaints
Complaints are the only way to officially record a problem that the monitoring stations do not detect. In August, there were 9: 5 from Artemida, 3 from Koropi and 1 from Rafina. All 7 concerned noise at night. In June and July, Artemida had 3 complaints each month, totalling 9 and 8 respectively.
From January to August, the airport received 50 complaints, almost as many as in the whole of 2025 (51). May, with 14 complaints, was the worst month of the year.
Anyone who is bothered by this can call the “We’re Listening” helpline on 210 3530003, which operates 24 hours a day, or email NoiseComplaints@aia.gr. It helps if you note down the exact time and location: this enables the airport to identify the flight.
Source: Athens International Airport S.A., Monthly Noise Report for August 2026 (posted by the Municipality of Rafina–Pikermi, 24/09/2026); reports for June and July 2026 and September 2025; World Health Organisation, Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region (2018).
