Post-lockdown flights to Greece
The situation is still moving fast, and some media outlets are not helping by posting speculation as fact. As of today, flights from the following countries will be allowed to operate to either Athens or (new) Thessaloniki, and passengers connect to domestic flights, ferries, or land transport, starting 15 June:
Albania, Australia, Austria, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Finland.
Nationality is irrelevant, it is departure point that matters. There will be no requirement for travellers to take a coronavirus test before leaving for Greece, or to quarantine on arrival in Greece. This list is based on the success these countries have had in minimising the rate of new infections. Additional countries may be added to the list in mid-June to take effect from July if their governments manage to get the virus situation under control by then.
Now this list is not as generous as it seems, not all these countries have ever had flights to Greece, and some still have a total international flight ban.
From 1 July flights from countries on the permitted list (including any that have been added by then) direct to airports such as Rhodes and Kos will start. But the chances of the flight programme originally announced for summer operating, even from the countries permitted, is small. Some airlines have closed down since the crisis started (for example Ryanair has just closed its subsidiary Laudamotion, based in Vienna). I’ll try and produce a new set of flight schedules as soon as things settle down – guess why I never finished this year to begin with!
Air passengers will be required to wear facemasks, and food and drink will not be served on board flights to/from Greece
Just to add a few updates – on Symi itself the bus services are back, ferry services are gradually increasing from next week (but you’ll need a face mask there too).
Two more Symi businesses that are sellng by mail order are Medusa (clothes, shoes etc) and Marcia Whitworth. You’ll need to contact them via Facebook.