Aegean Airlines

As it gradually comes out of lockdown to restore domestic and some international service, Aegean Airlines is introducing strict safety measures at the gate and onboard and a flexible ticketing policy, the Greek carrier said in an announcement.

Aegean Airlines, Greece's largest carrier, expects 2020 to be the worst year in its 21-year history as restrictions imposed to contain the new coronavirus pandemic have hit revenues and grounded planes, its chairman said on Monday.

Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines said on Thursday it will gradually restart flights from Athens to some major European destinations by the end of May, ending a suspension prompted by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey on May 4 denied allegations that Turkish forces had harassed a helicopter carrying Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos over the Aegean Sea.

"Any harassment of the helicopter carrying Greece's national defense minister on board is out of the question," said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy in a statement.

Notwithstanding Greece's relative success in curbing the spread of the coronavirus, migrant reception centers across the country remain a concern as potential hotbeds for outbreaks, particularly on the Aegean islands where facilities are overcrowded and social distancing rules are all but impossible to enforce.

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets entered Athens' Flight Information Region (FIR) without submitting a flight plan at 2.19 p.m. Thursday and flew over Oinousses, in the eastern Aegean, at 26,000 feet.

Two minutes later, the two jets flew over Panagia islet at 21,000 feet.

The Turkish aircraft were intercepted by Greek jets in line with international rules of engagement.

An Aegean Airlines flight arrived at Athens International Airport early on Monday with 1.7 million surgical masks and other materials to help the efforts of the Greek state in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

As the country scrambles to deal with the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic, local companies Aegean Airlines and Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) have joined forces in a solidarity campaign and are offering 10 free flights to bring precious healthcare supplies to Greece.

In spite of a ban on flights from the UK, introduced on Monday as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Greek authorities on Friday gave the all clear for an Aegean Airlines flight to repatriate 32 Greeks stranded in Britain.

Aegean Airlines on Monday announced the suspension of all international flights as of Thursday until April 30.
It follows the new restrictions imposed by the government, including the suspension of all international flights to and from Italy, Spain, Turkey and Britain.