Hello travelers, My fiance and I are traveling to Greece (Athens) on Sunday. After reading the BBC I saw that there were riots today. How does this affect the airport? Should I be concerned about the riots? Thanks, Robert
Posted by
Philadelphia, PA, USA
3320 posts
This will not affect the airports; the strike was 24 hours. No, you should not be concerned about "riots". Yes dissatisfaction is serious (15% unemployed), people are angry, but 99.9% of strikers demonstrated peacefully. Also, BBC always blows Greek unrest waaay over top. Last year they took 10 secs. of videotape & ran it for days. Yesterday 20,000 people, total, marched in Athens. I lived in Manhattan for 35 years; 20,000 people wouldn't fill 1/4 of Times Square. Actually, as in last years demonstrations, "anarchists" (many of them from other countries) exploited this strike to get attention. AP reported "Police said 30 suspected rioters were detained in Athens, with 11 of them arrested as dozens of black-clad anarchists smashed bus stops, set rubbish bins on fire and smashed a shop window." Catch that? "A" shop window. Yawn. In NYC, we'd just go about our business.
Yes, strike halted transportation & closed museums and famous sites, so there were tourism problems. For one day. But let us not fear-monger, rather just hope that Greece will muddle through. (BTW, there are never job actions on weekends, so never travel worries Friday thru Monday).
Posted by
Colorado Springs
334 posts
We're leaving on Monday - maybe we'll see you there. anyway, I've been watching the strike news - this was planned a long time ago. Here's a website that seems to have current information. http://livingingreece.gr/strikes/ I think it's going to be fine this week (hope so) - enjoy.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
Robert, There were a lot of news reports about "riots" last year when I was in Greece, and I found these were entirely a "non event". The day I arrived back in Athens from the Pelopponese, there was supposed to be a huge riot in Syntagma Square that had paralyzed all traffic. I decided to have a look, so took the Metro there as soon as I dropped my Pack in the Hotel. I found that it was totally "business as usual" with nothing at all happening. Based on my experiences, I wouldn't be too concerned about it (but of course use normal precautions if you do see a "situation" developing). Have a few cool Mythos Beers, a nice Greek Salad and enjoy the country and the hospitality of the people! Happy travels!