Aegean Airlines appoints Michalis Kouveliotis as chief executive

Aegean Airlines named Michalis Kouveliotis as its new chief executive, the Greek carrier said on October 12, 2026. He takes the post immediately, after serving as deputy CEO since early 2025.

Kouveliotis replaces Dimitris Gerogiannis, who leaves the top job after roughly 20 years with the airline. Gerogiannis, who joined the company in 2001, was among the longest-serving chief executives in European aviation and will stay on as an adviser through the handover, overseeing the group's Technical Base and Training Center, which the airline described as a new development direction for the business.

Aegean chairman Eftichios Vassilakis credited Gerogiannis with helping shape the carrier's service culture alongside Theodoros Vassilakis, pointing to what he called a combination of technical knowledge and a personal approach. Vassilakis said the outgoing chief executive would remain connected to the company as it shifts from its founding leadership group to a younger set of managers.

Earlier in his career Kouveliotis spent more than 20 years as Aegean's chief financial officer. As part of the succession planning, he became deputy CEO with responsibility for coordinating the airline's business divisions. Vassilakis said Kouveliotis had shown he could steer the company through both expansion and downturns, and noted that he had run the transition process over the past two years.