Aegean Airlines

Aegean Airlines will reintroduce international flights and services to all Greek airports as of June 15, as part of the gradual easing of measures introduced during the coronavirus pandemic, the company said on Wednesday.

The government on Thursday announced the allocation of 115 million euros to support the local airline industry, which Greek flag carrier Aegean Airlines considered positive but "too little in comparison with other European Union states." Instead the listed carrier is eyeing a €150 million state loan through the extraordinary credit mechanism for companies.

The government is considering supporting Aegean Airlines due to its role as a company that is key to tourism and air travel in Greece, without this entailing the acquisition of a stake in the listed carrier.

As it gradually comes out of lockdown to restore domestic and some international service, Aegean Airlines is introducing strict safety measures at the gate and onboard and a flexible ticketing policy, the Greek carrier said in an announcement.

Aegean Airlines, Greece's largest carrier, expects 2020 to be the worst year in its 21-year history as restrictions imposed to contain the new coronavirus pandemic have hit revenues and grounded planes, its chairman said on Monday.

Greece's largest carrier Aegean Airlines said on Thursday it will gradually restart flights from Athens to some major European destinations by the end of May, ending a suspension prompted by the new coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey on May 4 denied allegations that Turkish forces had harassed a helicopter carrying Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos over the Aegean Sea.

"Any harassment of the helicopter carrying Greece's national defense minister on board is out of the question," said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy in a statement.

Notwithstanding Greece's relative success in curbing the spread of the coronavirus, migrant reception centers across the country remain a concern as potential hotbeds for outbreaks, particularly on the Aegean islands where facilities are overcrowded and social distancing rules are all but impossible to enforce.

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets entered Athens' Flight Information Region (FIR) without submitting a flight plan at 2.19 p.m. Thursday and flew over Oinousses, in the eastern Aegean, at 26,000 feet.

Two minutes later, the two jets flew over Panagia islet at 21,000 feet.

The Turkish aircraft were intercepted by Greek jets in line with international rules of engagement.

An Aegean Airlines flight arrived at Athens International Airport early on Monday with 1.7 million surgical masks and other materials to help the efforts of the Greek state in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.