Astypalaia, Kastelorizo, Milos the three new air tourism destinations

From the regional airports of Astypalaia, Kastellorizos and Milos, the first synergy for air visits (island hopping) in our country began, with the three islands dynamically entering the map of air tourism destinations.

This pioneering 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 our 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, as well as the municipalities of Astypalaia, Kastelorizo ​​and Milos, with the cooperation of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association – AOPA Hellas and Hellenic Pilots Association.

A strategic advantage of this cooperation, according to a joint announcement by the Ministries of Transport and Tourism, is the expansion of the connection of these three islands with destinations and means that could not – until today – be supported by the commercial flights of the airlines, due to the specific specifications of their airports.

How the pilot program works:

• 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 that are also filed with the U.P.A.)

• During the execution of routes to and from the landing field, the current European and Greek legislation regarding flight safety, the operator’s responsibility, the performance and limitations of the aircraft are applied, always in relation to the prevailing weather conditions in the area

For the promotion of air tourism in our country – which is a new special form of tourism – the Ministry of Infrastructure & Transport and the Ministry of Tourism set up a special inter-ministerial working group, with the aim of planning and implementing further joint actions.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism, Sofia Zaharaki, stated:

“We are steadily and with a plan strengthening the special forms of tourism, developing the appropriate synergies and implementing the necessary initiatives, in order for our islands to become a pole of attraction for incoming air tourism – with the possibility of air visits (island hopping) – twelve months a year.

Based on the dichotomy “quality and safety”, we continue to upgrade our tourist product, “building” on all the new global trends, increasing competitiveness and highlighting the comparative advantages of the islands and our country.

Because air tourism can be a powerful tool for the development of the national and local economy, contributing revenue to the state coffers, but also to the wallet of the average Greek family, throughout the year.”

The General Secretary of Transport of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Mr. Yiannis Xifaras, stated:

“The continuous improvement of the aviation sector through our targeted actions, creates the possibility to increase the transport work with quality and safety. Already the Greek airports have increased their work, absorbing the pressures they receive from the delays and cancellations of the flights to European destinations.

At the same time, 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 application of the action, the development of which will have as a final result its application to all Greek regional airports”.

Source: AMPE