Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines flew 15 million passengers last year, a record for the 20-year old airline, and boosted its load factor, it said on Thursday.

Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airline group, said overall passenger traffic grew 7% in 2019 with its load factor increasing to 84.8% from 83.9% a year earlier. Passenger traffic on its international routes grew 11% year-on-year.

"We continue to invest in extending the tourism period, a double bet on sustainable growth in tourism and the country," the carrier's CEO Dimitris Gerogiannis said in a statement.

Last month Aegean submitted a non-binding bid for Croatia Airlines, which the Croatian government is seeking to privatise.