Videoconference Greece – Russia on the issue of opening flights postponed

The teleconference of the co-chairs of the mixed Russian-Greek commission on the issue of opening regular flights between Russia and Greece, scheduled for Wednesday, will not take place, it has been postponed, the office of First Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Miltiadis Varvitsiotis told RIA Novosti.

Varvitsiotis and Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Savelyev on May 11 during an extraordinary videoconference discussed the restoration of regular flights. They agreed to contact again on May 19.

“The videoconference did not take place, it will take place on another day. The date has not yet been determined. The issue of opening regular flights is still under discussion. It was discussed last week, and now it is determined when the next meeting will take place,” the office said.

The videoconference is expected to take place next week, the office said.

Greece has opened its borders for tourists since May 14 – restrictions on the entry of foreign tourists, including Russian ones, have been lifted; they will not be quarantined. The Ministry of Tourism promises them a safe holiday. Most of the restrictions imposed six months ago due to the coronavirus pandemic are also being lifted.

Tourists from Russia, despite the permission, cannot yet rest in Greece – the Russian authorities have not yet given permission for regular and charter flights. Russian tourists have not visited Greece for over a year – Russian Aeroflot and Greek airline Aegean Airways have suspended flights from Russia to Greece and back since the end of March 2020 due to the spread of the coronavirus.

Now the regular service has been resumed only partially. Before the pandemic, it was allowed to make 24 regular flights Moscow-Athens per week, there were flights to the capital of Greece from other Russian cities, many flights on other routes, to Thessaloniki, to the islands.

Several flights are now allowed on the Moscow – Athens route. Aeroflot and Aegean operate two regular flights a week.

Decisions on opening flights with other countries are made by the headquarters to prevent the import and spread of a new coronavirus infection in Russia, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.

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