Greece resumes international flights

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Greece kickstarted its tourist season with 235 flights expected to arrive Wednesday at the country’s regional airports after coronavirus restrictions were eased.

Flights from Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom will not be allowed until July 15, while there are no restrictions on other European countries.

Moreover, the country opened its borders to travelers from Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Morocco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia, Uruguay and the Vatican.

According to the Civil Aviation Agency, a special form is required from all travelers to be completed 48 hours prior to their departure.

The form will have details such as the traveler’s country of origin, stays in other countries and their stay address in Greece.

According to the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, passengers arriving by air will be transferred to an area where screening personnel are located and will check the unique quick response (QR) code each passenger shows them.

Depending on their QR code passengers will be directed either to the screening area or to the baggage claim area or passport control. Until the screening results become available, passengers tested for the virus are obliged to self-isolate at the address of their final destination.

The country relies heavily on tourism accounting for almost 20% of its gross domestic product (GDP) and it is much awaited by the government after a decade of an economic recession that it had just managed to overcome.