Athens Airways

Greece recorded 19 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, of which the 12 concerned passengers from a flight from Qatar that landed in Athens' International Airport on Monday, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The total number of cases in the country reached 2,937, of which 55.3 percent are men.

Greece on Tuesday announced they were suspending flights to and from Qatar until mid-June, after 12 out of 91 passengers in a Qatar Airways flight that landed in Athens on Monday tested positive for the coronavirus.

Greek authorities on Friday announced they were extending a ban on passenger flights to and from Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands until May 31.

The global airline industry is facing its worst crisis ever, with the impact already obvious at Athens International Airport, which recorded a 61.3 percent year-on-year decline in passenger traffic last month.
It only served 640,000 passengers, almost a million fewer than in March 2019, with the situation worsening in the latter half of the month.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said it would pay a subsidy of 24,608,000 euros through a tender for 12 airline services to several Greek islands.

The tender will also set the maximum charter rates according to the season and the minimum frequency of flights.

Athens International Airport recorded a 4.3 percent year-on-year increase in traffic in October, when it was used by 2.3 million passengers.

The number traveling on international flights came to 1.63 million, an increase of 7.2 percent on October 2018. However, domestic traffic continued its downward course for a fourth consecutive month.

Greek airline Sky Express said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with Qatar Airways to cooperate on flights connecting Doha with the Greek islands, in a boost to the country's key tourism industry.

Tourism accounts for about a quarter of economic output in Greece, which saw a record number of about 33 million visitors last year.

At least 40 percent of businesses in well-known Greek holiday destinations are trying to cheat tax authorities out of revenue, according to data collected by the Independent Authority for Public Revenue.
In inspections conducted in July, the percentage of delinquent businesses on the islands ranged from 41 to 62 percent.

Greece's public revenue authority, AADE, has been dispatching dozens of inspectors to popular tourism spots all over the country to check businesses for tax evasion and other violations.

Speaking at the 7th annual Exposec-Defenseworld Conference in Athens, US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt stressed that Greece's geostrategic location is key to security and stability in the Southeast Mediterranean.