Blue Flag: 22 Greek beaches stripped of honorary label

Following unannounced inspections by inspectors from the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature and international assessors, a total of 22 beaches were found to be non-compliant with the programme's strict criteria and were stripped of their Blue Flag label.

Beaches previously awarded the Blue Flag by the International Programme for Environmental Education, Information and Awareness were excluded from the 2024 national and international list and lost their award because they either did not organize a swimming season this year or did not meet strict established assessments to date. In accordance with the procedure established by the program, inspectors found deficiencies in compliance with the criteria, which concerned:

• providing services to bathers and visitors (including people with disabilities),
• purity,
• reliability of information,
• safety of bathers and visitors,
• proper use of natural resources,
• blocking free coastal space.

The deadline for flying the Blue Flag is July 1. Members of the National Crisis Committee and the Programme Coordination Committee, as expected, decided to revoke the awardsin order to maintain the prestige and authority of the institution that issues the Blue Flag award.

Inspection visits are currently ongoing to all of the country's award-winning coastlines, which are, for the most part, are carried out without prior notice. If shortcomings in compliance with the criteria are found on other coasts, they will be subject to strict measures, the national crisis committee and the program's coordinating committee said in a statement. The 22 beaches that have lost their Blue Flag are:

• AKTή Sonic the Hedgehog, Δήμος Μαραθώνα, Π. E. Αττικής
• AKTή 1ο Λιμανάκι Δασκαλειό Κερατέας/Solo Pino, Δήμος Λαυρεωτικής, Π. E. Αττικής
• AKTή Ψάλτος/Mitsis Lindos Memories ResortΔήμος Ρόδου, Π.Ε Δωδεκανήσων
• AKTή Καλλιθέα, Δήμος ΡόδουΠ.Ε Δωδεκανήσων
• AKTή Mikrosh GialosΔήμος Ρόδου, Π.Ε Δωδεκανήσων
• AKTή Αμνισός/Pnoe Breathing Life, Δήμος Χερσονήσου, Π.Ε. Ηρακλείου
• AKTή Έρμονες, Δήμος Κεντρικής Κέρκυρας και Διαποντίων Νήσων, Π.Ε. Κερκύρας
• AKTή Αγ. Γόρδιος/La Grotta Verde, Δήμος Κεντρικής Κέρκυρας και Διαποντίων Νήσων, Π.Ε. Κερκύρας
• AKTή Μύλος Όρμου Κορθίου, Δήμος Άνδρου, Π.Ε. Άνδρου
• AKTή Prosperity, Δήμος Μήλου, Π.Ε. Μήλου
• AKTή Καλαφάτης/Aphrodite Beach Resort, Δήμος Μυκόνου, Π. E. Μυκόνου
• AKTή Αγία Άννα/Μάραγκας, Δήμος Νάξου, Π.Ε. Νάξου
• AKTή Agios Georgios, Δήμος Νάξου, Π.Ε. Νάξου
• AKTή Agios Prokopios, Δήμος Νάξου, Π.Ε. Νάξου
• AKTή Αγ. Φωκάς/ΜαραθιάΔήμος Τήνου, Π.Ε Τήνου
• AKTή Ιεράπετρα 1/ΔημοτικήΔήμος Ιεράπετρας, Π.Ε Λασιθίου
• AKTή Κοινοτική Πλαζ ΜακρύγιαλουΔήμος Ιεράπετρας, Π.Ε Λασιθίου
• AKTή MistakesΔήμος Ιεράπετρας, Π.Ε Λασιθίου
• AKTή Μέγα Άμμος (Βράχος)Δήμος Πρέβεζας, Π.Ε Πρέβεζας
• AKTή KoυτλουμουσίουΔήμος Σιθωνίας, Π.Ε Χαλκιδικής
• AKTή 2Δήμος Αριστοτέλη, Π.Ε Χαλκιδικής
• AKTή Ουρανούπολη 1/Xenia OuranoupolisΔήμος Αριστοτέλη, Π.Ε Χαλκιδικής.

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