ALERT: Greece- Industrial Strikes Beginning Tomorrow Will Affect Travelers (May 16, 2017)

May 16, 2017

A general strike will take place tomorrow in Athens, Greece, and will impact all major transportation.

Participating in the strike are air traffic controllers, seaman, and operators of buses, trains, and ferries. Ferry workers will extend their strike, meaning service to Greece’s islands may not return to normal until sometime on Friday.

The U.S. Embassy Athens informs:

The following means of transportation will be on strike:

• • Buses, yellow buses: 05:00 – 09:00 and 21:00 – 24:00
• • Metro and Urban train: 05:00 – 09:00 and 16:00 – 24:00
• • National and Suburban train: 24hrs
• • Ferries: Wednesday – Friday (May 17 – 19)
• • Civil Aviation, Air Traffic Controllers (flights may be cancelled or re-scheduled): 11:00 – 15:00

According to the Athens Airport website:

Due to the participation of the Union of Greek Air Traffic Controllers to the 24 hour national strike on the 17th of May 2017, there will be no flights to/from “Athens International Airport” between 11:00 to 15:00. In addition, flights to several peripheral airports maybe affected from 08:00 to 12:00p.m due to the participation of the Panhellenic Union of Aeronautical Telecommunication Officers in the strike. For further information please contact your airline.

Due to the strike, Suburban Railway and Metro services, from/to the Airport, will not be available on Wednesday, 17th of May 2017.

Public buses will be available from 09:00 to 21:00.

Taxis and Regional buses will be available.

According to Fox News:

Greek seamen and journalists walked off the job Tuesday, a day before a nationwide general strike to protest new austerity measures the government is legislating for in return for more bailout funds.

The seamen’s union announced Tuesday afternoon they would extend their strike, originally planned to last 48 hours, for a further two days, leaving ferries servicing Greece’s islands tied up in port until midnight Friday night.

Journalists were holding a 24-hour strike Tuesday, pulling news broadcasts off the air from 6 a.m. (0300 GMT). News websites were not being updated, and no Wednesday newspapers would be printed. Public bus company employees were also holding work stoppages during the day.

Wednesday’s general strike is expected to affect services across the country, from schools and hospitals to public transport. Air traffic controllers have declared participation with a four-hour work stoppage, leading to the rescheduling of 99 flights and the cancellation of a further nine by Greece’s Aegean and Olympic Air. Another airline, Sky Express, announced the rescheduling of 41 domestic flights between Athens and the Greek islands.

Protest marches have been scheduled for central Athens in the morning.

Workers are protesting a new deal with Greece’s international creditors that impose a raft of new tax hikes and spending cuts beyond the end of the country’s third bailout in 2018. The measures, which are to be voted on in parliament at midnight Thursday, will include additional pension cuts in 2019 and higher income tax in 2020.

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