A new tourist market is being born: air tourism

Of Fotis Fotinou

Alternative forms of tourism are trying to highlight and strengthen the relevant ministries.

One of them is air tourism, through the use of regional airports for small private aircraft.

In collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Transport is proceeding with the implementation of actions for air visits (island hopping), with the participation of the airports of Astypalaia, Kastellorizos and Milos.

In particular, a related action took place on Saturday, July 23, when two private aircraft took off with the final destination of Astypalaia and Milos, marking the pilot start of operation of the regional airports and as landing fields, outside of their operating hours, with commercial flights.

This is an initiative undertaken from 2021 – jointly – by the Ministries of Infrastructure & Transport and Tourism, the Civil Aviation Service (CAA), as well as the municipalities of Astypalaia, Kastelorizo ​​and Milos, with the cooperation of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association – AOPA Hellas and the Hellenic Pilots Association.

As pointed out by the Ministry of Transport, a strategic advantage of this cooperation is the expansion of the connection of these three islands with destinations and means that could not be supported – until today – by the commercial flights of the airlines, due to the specific specifications of the airports.

The pilot application of the program foresees that flights to these three airports – which will operate simultaneously as landing fields – will be carried out from sunrise to sunset and only outside the airport’s operating hours with commercial flights (based on the NOTAMs filed and the CAA).

Interministerial Group on Air Tourism

During the execution of routes to and from the landing field and, as supported by the Ministry of Transport, the current European and Greek legislation regarding flight safety, pilot responsibility, aircraft performance and limitations are applied, in always depending on the prevailing weather conditions in the area.

To promote air tourism – which is a new special form of tourism – the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Tourism set up a special inter-ministerial working group, with the aim of planning and implementing further joint actions.

“With this specific action we can, through private flights, not only increase the number of visitors to our country, but at the same time we create a new field for the tourism market, with an added economic footprint for the country. These three airports are the first pilot implementation of the action, the development of which will have as a final result its implementation in all Greek regional airports”, emphasize officials of the Ministry of Transport.