STRIKE information!!
 

A new 24 hour strike has been announced for Wednesday May 19th.
It's not yet known which unions will take part. Judging from prior strikes, this may include:
Flights may be affected, hopefully more information by the end of the week, but possible that no confirmation until Monday.
All public sites and museums may be closed. This could impact the Acropolis, Agora, Nat. Museum, Acropolis Museum. Anyone in Athens on the 19th will still have plenty of options of things to do/see that won't be affected, just means juggling your itinerary.
Some public transport may not be running, but taxis should be business as usual.

Unless an extended strike is announced (rare) nothing on the 18th or 20th will be affected.
As soon as any details come out I will add to this thread.

Already an update, the strike will now be on WEDNESDAY the 20th so as 'not to hamper the Panhellenic examinations of pupils'
It's now 3.30pm here, small chance of further info today, but I will be checking from first thing tomorrow.

Are trans-atlantic flights affected or are the strikes mostly affecting UK to Europe flights? If the latter, does BA attempt to place passangers on other airlines or do they just tell them to sit it out? I'll be flying into Heathrow from Chicago and then on to AMS. If I get to Heathrow would the Eurostar work to AMS?

This info is only regarding strikes in Greece. All flights in, out or internally may be affected here if the air traffic controllers join the strike. Nothing to do with BA or anywhere else in Europe.

The country is bankrupt, its citizens have been doing the equivalent of living on their credit cards FOR years, they are dependent on the charity of Germany and France, one of the few hopes is increased tourism and industry, yet everything they are doing makes tourists less likely to visit and ensures that no rational company would open a new factory or office in Greece. I grieve for rational and patriotic Greeks!

So sorry for the confusion, Thursday the 20th!
Ackislander, please keep things in perspective, the media has done much negative reporting on events in Greece, but in reality there have been 5 or 6 days of striking this year, out of 4.5 months! That compares well to some other places (everywhere has their problems at the moment), such as 20 days of BA cabin crew strikes in May & June!
Very infuriating & frustrating for anyone affected, but this will be a minority, many will come to Greece & not even notice any difference. If it makes you not want to visit that is your choice, but thousands have already been this year & thousands more to come. I will still be travelling all over Greece & enjoying it!
The best I can do is try to inform people of any information I can get, don't shoot the messenger!

Quick strike related question perhaps someone can help with. We were going to see Delphi the morning of the 20th and then drop our rental at the Athens airport before taking a taxi to our hotel (Athens Gate). With the pending strike, we can tweak our schedule to see Delphi in the late afternoon of the 19th instead. Is Delphi open to 7pm?

But does anyone have any suggestions how we get into Athens on the 20th? I presume we can just leave our car with the keys under the seat at the aiport (I will ask when we pickup the car on the 15th)

But if the airport is closed will there be any taxis there to get us into the city? I presume the airport bus and public transit will not be working... Any thoughts?

Also, it looks we will have a totally free day on the 20th (including a rental car as long as we want). We will be spending the night in Delphi on the 19th. Any suggestions what we do that day if all the sites are closed? Any help is much appreciated!

Thanks so much.

Thank you Yaiassas for your update. I'm not worried about my up coming trip. I have charge cards, good debit cards, and cash. I have all conditions covered. In case of strike, I guess I can cope. I'm coming to Greece!

I've traveled in many countries during strikes and once during a mini-revolution. It was a little stressful, but we were never in any kind of danger, and I felt much sorrier for the civilians affected by it than I did for our ruined plans. This week Greece is in the spotlight, but next week it could be Spain, Portugal, or...? That's why nothing's stopping us from returning to Greece in a few weeks. We're looking forward to another great trip.

Thanks Yaiassas for your updates. I fly to Athens this weekend and next weekend so am very interested in your information. After last week's layover in Athens and being required to stay in and near our hotel during the strikes and riots,I am bringing more reading material and some wine!!!
No matter what-I love the Greek people,the countryside, the food and the hassles.

Pauljagman-I think that I would be more concerned with the BA strike and actually getting to Athens from Chicago because their first strike is the 18th for several days?

Will they be striking in August too... not sure if I want to deal with all of this

Striking in Greece in August is not impossible, but EXTREMELY unlikely, the Greeks are on holiday! There aren't that many left in Athens to join any demonstration/strike, so very little chance of any problems.
Stop worrying, this will be the 6th or 7th day of striking in 4 & half months, really not as often as the media would have you believe!
Coming in August reduces the odds considerably of you being affected by a strike, if your travel days are not Tues, Weds or Thurs you reduce the odds even further.

jersey1977,
Rearranging so you see Delphi on the 19th would be a good idea. Certainly discuss your options for the car when you collect it, drop off at the airport may leave you stranded if the airport is closed, there would be no need for taxis to be there, & it's not known yet if, or which, public transport will be on strike. Worth noting on the last strike day the Metro only reduced their hours, they didn't strike for the whole day. I hope there will be a bit more detailed info by the time you collect your car, but I would call the company on the 19th for absolute final arrangements.

Thank you Yiassas for your "insider" info...I know we all appreciate a voice of reason on the scene!!!

The Seamen's union has announced that they will be taking part in the strike called for the 20th, so ferries will be a problem. I am checking for further details on this & other unions.

yes, ferry strike confirmed - 24 hr strike- 2 separate days,
Some details,
Ferries affected,
20.05 commencing 00.01 on 20.05 for 24 hrs.

THEY ALSO ANNOUNCED,
31.05 06.00 am to 01.06 06.00 am. Cruise ship Zenith to be affected DURING this strike and to be denied access and disembarkation.

SOME GOOD NEWS!!!!
The air traffic controllers have announced that they will NOT be joining the strike on the 20th. Let's hope a few more see sense too!

Thanks Yiassas. Keep it coming!

Woohoo!!! Thank you for the good news!! Even though nothing would keep me away from Greece in June (barring any major catastrophe),it would be so nice to arrive at a peaceful Athens!!

any more updates on air traffic controllers on 20th (or is it fairly certain flights not affected)? What about taxis? Thanks for all the help

Hi, I have tickets for a ferry on the 20th may 07.30.
Would this definitely not be running due to the strikes? It's with Hellenic Seaways and was confirmed on 13th May!

Any good news would be appreciated! Thanks

Yiassas, do you have any more information about the strike on the 31st May? Will it affect ferries, or just the cruise ship mentioned? And does it affect just Piraeus, or also other ports - in particular, Rafina? We are due to be flying back home from Athens on the 2nd June, and had intended to travel back by ferry to Piraeus, probably from Paros, on the 1st June. When strikes do take place, do things get back to normal straight away after the strike ends? I'm just wondering if we should now make some alternative plans?

Sorry I've been off here this week, very limited internet time, but here's an up date.
Frances, as you need to connect to an International flight on the 2nd (what time of day?), I would check all your options for the 1st, including flights. Bear in mind that the strike of the 31st is from 6am to 6am on the 1st June.
A bit late for those flying today I know, but worth noting in case there are future strike dates when the ATC don't take part. Some of the smaller islands have Telecommunications personel doing the air traffic ccontrol duties & they ARE striking, so although the international flights & the majority of domestic ones are unaffected there are a few that won't operate. See Olympic's list of affected flights for future reference,
http://www.olympicair.com/News.aspx?a_id=1681
There has been no further announcement about the 31st so at the moment I would take the safer assumption that NO ferries will be running & plan accordingly.
To date no further strikes have been announced.

Yiassis,
We are scheduled to travel via ferry to Santorini on 31st. We have been concerned about ferry strikes so we asked our Greek travel agent about this and she has not seen anything regarding this strike. Do you happen to have an official website you can reference for me?

Yiassis,

We are schedule to travel via ferry from Crete to Santorini on June 1 at 9:45 AM. You mentioned that the strike ends at 6 AM on the 1st. Do you think that we will have a problem or is it generally "business as usual" when the strike ends at 6 AM?

jodysterag,
Here's where the announcement was made by the Panhellenic Seamen's Federation,
http://www.pno.gr/dt/13-5-2010.pdf
It's all in Greek so you will have to use Google translate or similiar. The first bit is about the strike that was on the 20th, further down is the reference to the 31st. I can't get detail as to just how widespread this strike will be at the moment, maybe nearer the date.

amoore,
It's difficult to be absolutely sure about ferries the next day, I would think the ones that are a daily run are the ones most likely to be back on track the quickest as the ferries should be in the right port to continue as normal. As the Crete to Santorini isn't in or out of Piraeus it might be worth contacting to see if that will run as normal.

Thank you so much, yiassas. I will contact our travel agent.