Ryanair Resumes Services to Athens, Thessaloniki for Summer 2020

Low-cost carrier Ryanair on Thursday announced the resumption of flights to Athens and Thessaloniki after almost four months of keeping them grounded due to COVID-19 restrictions.

An Athens to Rome Ciampino flight marked the first service of Ryanair’s 2020 summer schedule for Greece on June 24.

The carrier’s full schedule went into effect on July 1, and includes 30 international routes connecting Athens to European and Mediterranean destinations such as Bologna, Berlin and Charleroi.

Meanwhile, Ryanair’s services from Thessaloniki include itineraries to Rome, Paris and Frankfurt.

“Greece is a great destination with many offerings and tourism products. We look forward to extending this summer season as much as possible – for Athens as a city-break option and for Greece as a year-round destination,” Ryanair Head of Sales and Marketing Chiara Ravara told reporters during an online press event on Thursday.

Ravara also reffered to the health and safety measures applied on Ryanair flights to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. As she said, special HEPA filters have been installed on all aircraft, the use of masks is mandatory while sales on board are cashless in order to limit physical contact.

Ryanair is gradually increasing capacity for Greece with the aim to reach 60 percent of its original capacity by September and hopefully return to 90 or 100 percent by winter.

The company has seen a surge in bookings for Greece during the last two weeks.

“Greece is among the top destinations in terms of bookings for travelers from the UK, Germany, Poland and Italy,” Chiara Ravara said.

Demand is also high for itineraries to Spain, Italy and Malta among other Mediterranean countries.