Two of the world’s oldest civilizations are set to become closer, thanks to the establishment of a direct flight route.
Beginning July 23, Aegean Airlines will fly transfer passengers between Tehran and Athens. Aegean Airlines is the largest Greek airlines in terms of passengers carried and fleet size, as well as the number of destinations served, Persian travel news website Donyay-e-Safar reported.
Previously, it took Iranians two flights and a stopover to reach Greece. Direct flights cut traveling time from 10 hours down to three hours.
The new development in Iran-Greece relations will not only save time and money, but will also make traveling to Europe and vice versa more convenient.
Aegean Airlines has an extensive flight network covering 34 domestic destinations and 100 international destinations in 42 countries. Thus, the airline would be a good and economic choice for Iranians who intend to travel beyond Greece. Likewise, Tehran will be more accessible for Greeks and other Europeans.
The possibility of starting direct flights between the two countries was discussed in May, when Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Greece and met with Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament Zoi Konstantopoulou. Zarif stressed the need for collaboration to develop tourism and called for facilitating visa issuance, sentiments shared by Konstantopoulou.
Two weeks ago, Skytrax, a UK-based consultancy that runs an airline and airport review and ranking site, awarded Aegean Airlines with the “Best Regional Airline in Europe” award.
