Greece lifts COVID-19 curbs for travelers ahead of key summer season
People spend time on the beach during a heatwave in Alimos suburb, south of Athens, Greece July 1, 2021. REUTERS FILE PhOTO
ATHENS — Greece lifted COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for foreign and domestic flights, its civil aviation authority said, ahead of the summer tourism season that officials hope will see revenues bouncing back from the pandemic slump.
To fly in or out of the country, travelers were previously required to show either a vaccination certificate, a certificate saying they had recovered from coronavirus or a negative test.
From May 1, passengers and crew will need only to wear a face mask, the civil aviation authority said.
The summer tourism season typically begins after the Greek Orthodox Easter, which was on April 24. Greece is expecting high numbers of visitors this year, with officials predicting revenues reaching 80% of 2019 levels. That was a record year before the pandemic brought travel to a halt.
With infections waning, restaurants and retail shops returned to 100% capacity on Sunday, allowing customers in without proof of vaccination but with a mask.
Greece has reported 3,323,922 cases so far and 29,153 deaths from COVID.
RELATED STORIES
Southern Europe grapples with changing face of tourism
EU COVID-19 passports, vaccines helped European tourism recovery–UN report
Turkey tourism recovery hurt by Russia invasion of Ukraine
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
