njswyo

I will be arriving in Athens during one of the public strikes oct 19th and will be staying on Syntagma Square. Am thinking about trying to change my ticket to arrive the 18th to avoid any problems with the planned strike. Wondering if anyone has any advice or should I just arrive as planned. When it is a public strike, I know trains, taxis, etc are affected but is the airport as far as planes arriving and departing? Would be getting into Athens about 6pm so then into the city a bit later. Thanks.

yiassas

It is too soon to say exactly who will take part in the strike as far as any sectors that would affect you are concerned. Any of the forms of public transport may join in for all, or part, of the day. Air traffic controllers are another possible sector, which would then change your arrival date or time anyway.
If you can alter your ticket with little or no cost then that would be the best, if you can't just make sure you monitor this site
http://livingingreece.gr/strikes/ for details of participants. Bear in mind that definite details are likely to be confirmed within the last 24-48hrs (even ones announced earlier can change).
If it does turn out to be impossible, or expensive, to change your ticket, then ask on here for your alternative travel options into the city etc once a bit more is known about participants.

sludick

Just heard from our son and his new bride, who were honeymooning in Greece. They are stranded in Santorini and unable to get a flight out of the country until the 10th of October at the earliest (so they are being told). It's not just air travel, but all public transportation right now.

Delaine

I was in Italy last month, and there was such a strike (all transportation) on the day I was supposed to fly home. I had private transportation to the airport, but my flight (Delta to JFK)was only 1 of 2 international flights that left Venice that day. I was lucky, but there's a good chance your flight would be affected.

Heimdall

Sorry to hear about your son and daughter-in-law's problems. Do they have an international flight out of Santorini? Five days seems like a long time to wait for a rescheduled flight -- can they make other arrangements?

The general strike is supposed to last 24 hours only, and it is now after midnight in Athens. As I write, flights are already beginning to arrive and depart Athens International Airport (see http://www.aia.gr/). The same should be true for other Greek airports.

Heimdall

Try http://www.aia.gr/ for the link to Athens Airport. Skip the intro and it will show real time arrivals and departures.

Elyse_Dorm

I just heard from my parents who are in Santorini right now and they said they said the airport had a 24hour strike, but that it should be up and running tomorrow (they need to fly out on the 7th.

sludick

I'm crossing my fingers! Part of the problem is the other forms of transport they are needing to take to get from Santorini (guessing they were not flying from Santorini to Athens airport).

Thank you all for your concern - I'll post any updates. Appreciate the links and the info.

Heimdall

Hi sludick,

I monitored ship movements yesterday on www.marinetraffic.com. The ferries seemed to be running pretty much as normal, so getting from Santorini to Piraeus shouldn't have been a problem. The main ferry from Santorini to Piraeus (Blue Star Naxos) left at 3:41 pm, and arrived back in Piraeus at 11:33 pm. The problem would have been getting from Piraeus to Athens or the airport.

Today, according to reports, all public transport is running normally. I hope your son & his new wife get their rearranged flight sorted out, and that they look at their extra time on Santorini as a bonus rather than a disaster. <i>When life gives you lemons, make lemonade</i> ;-)