Greece set to extend the ban on flights from UK

Greece has extended its ban on flights from the UK until July 15th, according to reports. 

International visitors were expecting to be able to enter Greece from July 1st, however, sources have told Athens News Agency that this is being pushed back until July 15th for UK flights.

Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has reportedly said: “The whole opening procedure is dynamic and the data will be continuously evaluated.”

The ban on international flights includes the UK and Sweden. 

The news comes after many airlines were set to offer flights, such as easyJet from Manchester Airport to Athens on July 1st. 

Haris Theoharis, Greek tourism minister, told ITV news last month that the UK’s record on coronavirus is not ‘good enough’ for those living in the country to make their way over to Greece.

He said: “I think that the UK has a big difference in terms of the current medical status of the country with Greece, so I don’t think it’s likely it will be there.”

The UK Foreign Office travel advice for Greece says that there are testing and quarantine requirements for new arrivals in the country, but that these depend on where you’ve flown from.

Those flying from Birmingham, Doncaster Sheffield, East Midlands, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Leeds, Bradford, Liverpool John Lennon, London City, Luton, Manchester Airport, Newcastle International, Stansted airports in the UK, will have to take part in mandatory testing and self-isolation.

If the test is negative you will need to isolate for seven days, if it is positive this will be 14 days, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The Greek authorities have indicated they will be carrying out sample testing on some arrivals. However, those travelling from airports not on the list may not be required to be testing or self-isolate. 

Greek authorities have selected 29 countries that will be allowed into Greece: Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Finland.