Ryanair closes its airdrome basal “Macedonia” V Thessaloniki successful the winter of 2026, and for bluish Greece this is not conscionable quality from the aviation industry.
This is simply a stroke to tourism, the determination system and the very section communities that for years depended connected inexpensive flights to bring tourists to Thessaloniki, HalkidikiTo Olympus and to different areas of the northbound of the country.
The Irish hose says it was owed to its extracurricular charging policy. Fraport Greecewhich operates a fig of determination airports successful Greece. According to version Ryanairexpenses astatine the airdrome Thessaloniki became too tall for the exemplary low cost. And present the logic is highly simple, astir insultingly prosaic: if a inexpensive hose stops making wealth connected a destination, it is not engaged successful foundation connected behalf of Greek tourism, but takes planes to where it is cheaper.
According to planetary agencies, Ryanair removes from Thessaloniki three based aircraft, reduces approx. 500,000 seats And 10 routes successful the winter schedule. Against this backdrop, the institution besides announced a wider simplification successful enactment successful Greece, including a simplification successful capableness successful Athens and suspension of winter operations from Chania And Heraklion.
Dispute implicit fees and question to the state
In the Greek media, the struggle is described arsenic a quality implicit an summation successful fees by astir 15% when extending the terms of cooperation. Herself Ryanair states that since the pre-pandemic period, fees Fraport Greece accrued by a total of 66%. The institution besides recalls the story of the aviation tax: when the authorities reduced Τέλος Ανάπτυξης Αεροδρομίων With 12 to 3 euros for a departing passenger, the benefit, according to the aerial carrier, did not scope the rider successful the expected form.
Fraport Greecefor its part, indicates successful authoritative documents that the accommodation of fees is within the limits of inflation, the concession statement and existent regulation. That is, formally the relation tin claim: everything is legal, everything is provided for successful the contract, everything is according to the rules. The occupation is that for a determination system the operation “everything according to the contract” sounds beauteous weak if the effect is nonaccomplishment of routes, passengers and jobs.
This is where the main governmental question arises. If the concession statement allows the airdrome relation to marque decisions that could dramatically impact determination tourism, then who protects the interests of the Greek system and how? The state has transferred power of strategic infrastructure, but cannot unreal that the consequences of the commercialized decisions of a backstage relation bash not interest it. And if it can, then this is nary longer management, but a very costly excursion done one’s ain powerlessness.
Northern Greece risks losing much than flights
For Thessaloniki and passim bluish Greece attraction basal Ryanair means not lone less planes connected the display. This is simply a stroke to travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, trade, taxis, αυτοκίνητο rentals and small businesses that person income not from ministry reports, but from the existent travel of people.
This is particularly achy for regions that are not a “showcase” of Greek tourism astatine the level Santorini, Mykonos oregon cardinal Athens routes. Northern Greece lives by a much analyzable tourism model: it relies connected affordable flights, stable schedules, abbreviated trips, household tourism and middle-income travelers. These are the benignant of passengers it often brings Ryanair.
The closure of the basal besides calls into question the destiny of astir 200 employeesrelated to the airline’s operations successful Thessaloniki. But adjacent this is lone the visible portion of the problem. Behind each shortened formation are tourists who could come, edifice nights that could beryllium sold, restaurants that could summation customers, and section budgets that could person revenue.
Now these passengers tin alert to different countries and regions where airdrome taxes are lower, and the authorities rapidly understand a elemental thing: inexpensive flights are not a luxury. For galore regions this is simply a transport artery. Squeezing it successful bid to summation fees is simply a determination that whitethorn look accountingly neat, but is economically destructive.
A abstracted question is what will hap to different airports managed by Fraport Greeceincluding Hanyu. If the aforesaid logic were applied there, the struggle could spell acold beyond Thessaloniki. And then the authorities will person to explicate not conscionable 1 case, but a systemic problem: however did it hap that a tourist state allows infrastructure tariffs to work against its ain tourism.
There are nary guiltless angels with boarding walk wings successful this story. Ryanair protects your profits, Fraport Greece — their tariffs and contractual rights, and the state is trying not to look retired of spot successful the country where the destiny of the determination system is being discussed. But it will not beryllium the airlines oregon officials who will wage for this dispute. They will wage Thessalonikinorthern Greece and those section businesses who will again perceive the bully aged explanation: the marketplace decided everything itself.
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