Traffic peaks in holiday exodus from Athens

The Greek coast guard and traffic police were on standby on Thursday to facilitate an increased exodus of people leaving the capital for their summer vacations ahead of the August 15 national holiday.

The main ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio were busier than in recent weeks amid reports that ferries were 80 percent booked to capacity.

A total of 66 ferries were scheduled to leave those three ports for the Aegean islands on Thursday.

The country’s highways were busy too as Athenians took to the roads to drive to their villages for the summer break.