ATHENS – This year's Athens Flying Week air show, scheduled for September 19 and 20, has been cancelled "due to insurmountable obstacles caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," the organising committee said in a statement.

"Athens Flying Week is based on a wide range of workers and means, such as transport aircraft and their crews, rescuers and doctors of various specialties, but also on a significant part of the state mechanism that is currently providing its services to deal with the health crisis. Unfortunately, the unprecedented health conditions and measures to reduce the spread of the epidemic leave us with no choice but to cancel this year's Air Show. Ticket holders can contact Viva at [email protected] and choose either a refund or the transfer of their ticket to 2021," the announcement stated.

"We want to thank all our partners, the National Defence General Staff, the Hellenic Air Force, the air forces of the countries participating in the event, the private aviators, the crews, the engineers, and of course we want to thank all of you, the Athens Flying Week family, for your love and support all these years," the announcement concluded.