Greece's new radar and air traffic control equipment has proved effective. Athens airport , during the first half of July, handled 12% more traffic than it did during the same period last year. Delays for this period were cut by 72% when compared with last July's first half, says the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). During the same heavy summer traffic period, the rest of Europe's airports experienced chaotic hours due to an increase in delays, according to the International Air Transport Association. Within Greece's domestic routes, air traffic so far this year is up 30 to 40% over the same period last year, says the CAA. It says the increase comes from the many new routes being flown by private Greek carriers, "which opened new markets without taking market share from state-owned Olympic Airways and its regional subsidiary Olympic Aviation." Even more impressive is the increase, says the CAA, when you consider that the popular island destinations Mykonos and Santorini have shown little or no increase in air traffic. Instead, new fast ferries from Athens to these points have become strong competitors for domestic airlines.