Reminder:
Ferries and ships will remain docked at the Greek ports
Disruptions in land transport
Air Traffic Controllers announced that they will participate in the 24-hour strike.
NOTE: usually the Greek authorities take cases of strikes by the Air Traffic controllers to courts to declare them as illegal 1 or 2 days before the strike. If you plan to travel by air on April 9 contact your airlines.
Thanks, JoLui. I guess you had predicted this in my earlier post! We will call the airlines that we switched to from ferry.
My flight from Montreal is scheduled to arrive in Athens the morning of April 9th. I've been calling Air Canada twice a day asking about contingency plans, and all their representatives tell me is "We have nothing in our system about a strike in Greece, if there will be a strike you'll get an email from us." I've offered to send them the Greek air traffic controllers press release, and news reports, but they don't want to hear about it.
Hopefully other carriers are being more responsible.
Good luck to anyone traveling that day.
As I said, most of the time, the air traffic controllers' strike is declared illegal and therefore canceled just before the strike date. But there is no guarantee regarding the strike on April 9th (the last strike on March 28th took place as planned, and Aegean, the Greek airline, had warned passengers of the cancellation of flights several days before the strike).
Check the Greek English-language press for update.
Some links:
https://www.tovima.com/society/air-traffic-controllers-to-join-april-9-strike-grounding-flights/
Communication from Aegean and Olympic Air regarding the April 9 strike:
AEGEAN proactively offers enhanced flexibility for those planning to travel on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, until the air traffic control strike is finalized
AEGEAN and Olympic Air would like to inform all passengers with tickets for Wednesday, April 9, 2025, that, due to the possibility of a strike following the participation of air traffic controllers in the upcoming 24-hour strike by ADEDY, and while awaiting for a possible cancellation by the relevant court of law, as of today they are offered the flexibility to change their tickets without any reissue fee and fare difference or cancel their booking and receive a credit voucher for future use, should they wish to.
According to the relevant NOTAM by Civil Aviation Authority, the participation of the air traffic controllers in the strike may be suspended following a decision by relevant court of law. Until then, and while waiting for the relevant decision there will be no changes on the AEGEAN and Olympic Air flight schedules.
For ticket changes or clarifications passengers are kindly advised to check the latest flight details by visiting the official website of AEGEAN www.aegeanair.com & Olympic Air www.olympicair.com or by contacting:
AEGEAN:
801 112 0000 (from Greek landline), 210 6261000 (from abroad or mobile phone)
Olympic Air:
801 801 0101 (from Greek landline), 210 3550500 (from abroad or mobile phone)
Hi all, greetings from Athens.
I’m uncertain about what to do on Wednesday with the flight to Naxos. This morning we were invited to check in for the flight, which I did. This is confusing. I would think they wouldn’t encourage passengers to check in for flights if there was a strike. I’ll try to change my flight tomorrow, but would love general advice on what to do.
A second question would be payment around hotels, Do you end up paying for two hotels? I’m not sure if the Naxos property will refund a night for this?
Amy, I'm sorry, but until the courts make a decision regarding this air traffic controller strike, the airlines are also waiting.
As explained in their communication, "Until then, and while waiting for the relevant decision, there will be no changes to the AEGEAN and Olympic Air flight schedules."
That's why you received a notice to check in for your April 9th flight, it's the usual procedure.
A decision will likely be made tomorrow 8 april. Ask the locals for the latest news since you're in Athens.
As for the second question, you should check with the hotel. Each hotel has its own rules regarding cancellation and refunds, they may apply them strictly or have some flexibility depending on the circumstances.
According to the Athens Airport website, the 24-hour strike of air traffic controllers is confirmed
We would like to inform you that due to strike of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Association participating in the general strike of the Supreme Administration of Greek Civil Servants Trade Unions (ADEDY), on Wednesday 9th of April, no flights from/to Athens International Airport El. Venizelos will be operated from 00:00 to 23:59 (local time).
