ATHENS – Transport and Infrastructure Minister Kostas Karamanlis referred to the reduction of fares on public transport and to a gradual increase in flights from abroad, initially to Athens International Airport where he said levels of traffic had improved in comparison with other European airports, in an interview with SKAI TV on Tuesday.

Regarding public transport fares, he noted that the transport ministry had intervened to bring about a greater discount than that resulting from lower VAT, which would have reduced fares to 1.27 euros, recommending to the finance ministry that the basic fare in Athens should drop to 1.20 euros.

On flights, the minister said that 230 planes had landed at Athens International Airport (AIA) on Monday, June 1 of which 75 pct were domestic flights, as opposed to 730 planes landing on the same date in 2019. These figures reflected a gradual improvement in air travel, according to the minister, while he pointed out that restrictions on flights and mandatory quarantine will continue to apply until June 15, when restrictions on flights abroad will be lifted for AIA and Thessaloniki's international airport, and July 1 when flights from abroad will be permitted at all Greek airports.