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The Greek government last Friday announced the formal suspension of airlines’ slot fees at the country’s regional airports for the six-month period (April to September) as part of a plan to support the crucial tourism sector.
Transport Minister Evripides Stylianidis and Tourism Development Minister Costas Markopoulos, in a joint news conference, said the move is aimed at providing more incentives to international tour operators to design their travel packages for Greece under more favourable prices and not to cut charter flights to the country.
Markopoulos said the move would benefit each tourist travelling to Greece by 10-12 euros, while the cost for the Greek state would total 8.0 million euros this year.
Stylianidis noted that the measure would also cover domestic flights. He did not exclude an extension of the measure for the rest of the year. The transport minister said the government was not examining the possibility of cutting slot fees at the Athens International Airport as well.
The government also announced it would spend 3.0 million euros for renovation works in regional airports and a survey to develop airstrips for attracting executive jet flights. The government is expected to launch a tender for the development of regional airports through attracting private capital.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
