Cry for help by six Greek aviation enterprises

Six Greek airlines have sent a letter to the Finance Ministry and other ministries asking for state support in the wake of the coronavirus measures. They speak of huge turbulence in the aviation market due to the pandemic and argue that without state assistance they will collapse and many jobs will be lost.

The letter is signed by Ellinair, Air Mediterranean, Bluebird Airways, GainJet, Lumiwings and Orange2Fly. They are calling for immediate financial support, stressing that the effects of the epidemic are unprecedented.

“The liquidity of the air carriers has been exhausted. Their fleets have been grounded, all their bookings and contracts have been canceled, passenger traffic has come down to zero, revenues have vanished and the costs of aircraft leasing, insurance, maintenance, salaries, parking charges etc remain; consequently, unless immediate measures are taken in the next few days, there will be mass closures of Greek aviation companies,” the letter sent to the government reads.

The carriers stress that each grounded aircraft costs the company 10,000-15,000 euros on a daily basis, not including salary costs.