Attiki Odos chief resigns after motorway snowfall chaos

Motorway operator Attiki Odos on Tuesday accepted the resignation of its CEO, Bill M. Halkias, after hundreds of motorists were trapped on the company’s tolled highway around Athens in the Elpida snowstorm.

In a company statement, Halkias, CEO of the company since 1999, stated that the last motorists had been freed from the motorway.

“As the head of an entire mechanism, I feel the need to facilitate the company and to submit my resignation as board member and as CEO,” Halkias was quoted in the statement.

Accepting his resignation, the board of the company appointed operations manager Aristophanis Papadimitriou to assume responsibilities from Halkias until the election of a new CEO.

Earlier, the company said it would compensate paying motorists who became trapped on the highway during Monday’s blizzard.