Greece faces travel chaos as transport workers stage 24-hour strike

A nationwide strike by transport workers has brought significant disruptions to travel across Greece, with major delays and cancellations affecting trains, taxis, and air travel.

In Athens, suburban train services have come to a complete halt, while taxi drivers have also joined the protest, Caliber.Az reports referring to Greek media.

However, the metro and trams are still running, primarily to help demonstrators reach a protest rally in front of the parliament building.

Air travel has also been heavily impacted, as Greek air traffic controllers are participating in the strike, leading to delays and cancellations at airports nationwide. 

Ahead of the walkout, Aegean and Olympic Air announced widespread cancellations and schedule adjustments for both domestic and international flights. Aegean Airlines stated that “all scheduled domestic and international flights are cancelled” for the day, with only a few exceptions.

“To assist affected passengers, Aegean has scheduled additional flights and free seats on both domestic and international routes before and after February 28,” the airline said in a statement. Travellers planning to fly between March 1-3 and wishing to reschedule can do so at no extra charge for travel until December 31 or opt for a credit voucher.

The strike comes almost exactly a year after Greece's deadliest train disaster, which took place in February 2023. A passenger train travelling from Athens to Thessaloniki collided at high speed with a freight train near Larissa, killing 57 people, most of them young students. The tragedy sparked mass protests, with over 65,000 people at one point demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

By Tamilla Hasanova