Having suffered crippling losses like most international air carriers over the pandemic, Aegean Airlines plans to add more flights this spring and summer as demand is now rising once again.
The announcement comes on the heels of an announcement that Athens officials are accelerating what had been a slow-rolling vaccination campaign and adding self-testing to the battle against the stubborn Coronavirus.
As of mid-July the carrier’s schedule will come to 70-75 percent of what it was in 2019 and is bringing back and retraining crews, according to a news report on Kathimerini. The airline expressed hopes for a summer rebound, the country reopening tourists on May 14. Aegean’s seven regional hubs will open the day after, with Heraklion and Rhodes, and plans also include more than 100 international routes, with an emphasis on direct flights.
Aegean had received a 120 million euro aid package from EU regulators to partially compensate for losses because of the pandemic. A week ago the Greek airline reported pre-tax losses of 296.8 million euros in 2020, with after-tax losses at 227.9 million euros, on pre-tax earnings of 106.7 million and after-tax earnings of 78.5 million euros in 2019.
