A notable increase in airline requests for slot clearance in Greece’s regional airports has raised expectations for this year’s summer tourist season.
The slot clearance requests (SCR) nationwide increased 13 percent, leading to estimates of higher foreign tourist arrivals, according to reports.
Based on the available figures, the slot requests increased 19.6 percent in the airport of Rhodes; 23 percent for Kos; 15.6 percent for Corfu; 15 percent for Irakleio and 14 percent for Thessaloniki.
In addition a new and highly anticipated air route linking China with Greece (via Munich) will be inaugurated on May 11 by Air China, according to reports.
The new route is expected to boost tourist arrivals from the Far East country to Greece, as more and more Chinese nationals are expressing interest in travelling to the east Mediterranean country, according to the Chinese government’s informational website.
The new route will be serviced by Airbus A330 planes, with two flights scheduled every week, Wednesday and Saturday. The flights will take off at 12.40am (local time) from Beijing and arrive in Athens at 10am local time the next day. The flight is estimated to last 13 hours and 25 minutes.