Events on Crete

News and Topical Events on Crete

We will bring you local interest stories from around Crete and Greece. We promise only to bring you light hearted or topical stories, no doom and gloom.

Marginal drop

With 16.2 million passengers last year, passenger traffic fell only 1.5 percent compared to 2008 figures. This compares with an average decline in Europe of 5.9 percent, AIA said earlier this week in a statement. Results were also driven by the strong domestic market, which saw a 5.2 percent increase in passenger travel, totalling 6.1 million passengers. It was a historical best in terms of flight numbers and passengers. With the total number of flights also indicating significant growth (210,000 flights, up 5.4 percent over 2008), AIA is the only major European airport to post an increase in flights last year, with the European average showing a 7.3 percent decline. An industry source said: “The global recession meant that Greeks chose to holiday on the islands - which was good for domestic carriers and for local economy. The big surprise also was that international passenger traffic barely dropped, year-on-year, showing that Greece has not lost its shine as a hub for both tourists and businesspeople.” But this is no time to relax. “The challenge now is to improve on these figures - it is vital that Greece has a successful marketing campaign if tourism is to remain the cornerstone of economic recovery.”

Boost from Olympic

The restructuring and marketing surrounding the launch of Olympic Air also gave the airport a boost, Paraschis said, and has been one of the factors attracting other airlines into the airport. OA was launched on October 1 amid a big and continuing marketing campaign. The airline was acquired by Marfin Investment Group after the Greek state privatised former Olympic Airlines. All domestic carriers registered an increase in both flights and capacity in ’09. Aegean Airlines also recently announced a 10 percent increase in passenger traffic for the year. “The airport has international recognition as one of the best in the world, while its home-based carriers now fly among the youngest fleets in Europe,” Paraschis said. “However, as the worldwide economic [recession] persists, it is still too early to make any predictions for recovery in air travel. I believe we will have a more reliable picture after the summer period of 2010. We are certainly keeping up our efforts in a spirit of solid cooperation towards our airline partners.” Last year, Athens International Airport offered direct scheduled services to 113 destinations in 52 countries, serviced by 70 airlines. The airport added to its network nine new destinations, including Abu Dhabi, Benghazi, Birmingham and Casablanca, as well as 13 airlines, including Athens Airways, Etihad, Pegasus and Transavia.

More holidaymakers

Tourist arrivals are predicted to rise by 2-3 percent this year, despite the ongoing international economic crisis, the Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasts (ITEP) said, while avoiding more specific forecasts due to the volatile environment dominating the global economy. The World Tourism Council also expects a marginal recovery in international tourist arrivals in 2010.

Two flew over the cuckoo's nest

Derision is heaped on the authorities after two of Greece's most notorious criminals stage a carbon-copy repeat of their 2006 helicopter jailbreak from the country's highest security prison

Already serving 25 years for murder, Alket Rizaj has also been charged with involvement in two contract killings after escaping from Korydallos in 2006

IN A GLARING security lapse that has raised concerns over possible corruption and malpractice within Greece's maximum-security penitentiary, one of the country's most dangerous criminals and his accomplice repeated a daring helicopter escape from Korydallos prison on February 22.

Vasilis Palaiokostas, 42, who was recaptured last August after a 2006 escape from Korydallos, western Athens, was due to stand trial this week with Alket Rizaj, a 34-year-old Albanian national, for the original breakout.

Both had been transferred to the prison two weeks earlier.

Rizaj, who was recaptured in September 2006, three months after escaping, was serving a life sentence for murder and has also been charged with carrying out two contract killings while on the run after the first escape.

Palaiokostas, who was serving a prison sentence of more than 25 years for a 1995 kidnapping, several robberies and arms possession, is also suspected of having kidnapped prominent Thessaloniki industrialist Yiorgos Mylonas while on the run last June. The reported ransom for the return of Mylonas was six million euros, which has not been traced.

The jailbreak - a near carbon copy of the 2006 escape - happened at approximately 4pm, further exposing the lax security measures.

Justice Minister Nikos Dendias, who was appointed to his post in the September 16 government reshuffle, rushed to Korydallos prison from Corfu and immediately announced the sacking of the ministry's general secretary, Fotis Vlahos, the inspector-general of prisons, Apostolos Oikonomou, and the head of the Korydallos prison, Leonidas Karabekios.

"Criminal charges will be brought against all those found responsible," Dendias said. "I will not tolerate this insult - all necessary measures will be taken, however harsh."

Vasilis Palaiokostas is believed to have kidnapped Thessaloliniki industrialist Yiorgos Mylonas while on the run after the first escape

The minister maintained the escape had to be an inside job and called for an investigation into the bank accounts of all guards working in the wing where the two convicts were held.

Suspicion quickly fell on prison staff.

A search of the accounts of four prison guards charged with failing to stop the prison break did not apparently reveal suspicious amounts of money.

Among the guards put on trial in short order was the head of the isolation wing, in which Palaiokostas and Rijaz were being held. The guard had allegedly been tipped off that a jailbreak attempt was imminent (see story on page 5).

The unnamed guard was, however, handed a suspended three-year jail sentence on February 26 for failing to follow proper prison procedures. He was later released from custody.

Also placed on trial was the helicopter pilot, who was found - with his hands bound, gagged and a hood over his head - alongside the grounded helicopter near Polydendri, in northeastern Attica, close to the Athens-Lamia motorway.

The pilot and three other guards were cleared of all charges on February 26.

The court heard how the guard closest to the incident took cover in his sentry box and did not open fire with his MP-5 submachine gun because he was being threatened by a woman passenger wielding an assault rifle.

Two guards in sentry boxes approximately 80 metres away from the helicopter opened fire and shot at least 30 rounds in an attempt to avert the escape.

Police investigate the helicopter used by two of Greece's most dangerous inmates to escape from Korydallos prison on February 22

Amid cheers from fellow inmates, the guards continued to fire as the helicopter rose. A riot policeman, on guard duty outside the prison, sustained minor injuries when his gun accidentally went off in attempting to take aim at the helicopter.

According to the pilot's testimony, he flew the helicopter from Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos airport at 1.30pm with a foreign female passenger, who told the pilot she wanted to go to Itea, central Greece, "to pick up her children".

A male foreigner then boarded the helicopter in Itea, apparently posing as the female passenger's husband. The pilot was then asked to fly to Elefsina, where the couple produced a hand grenade and a knife, and forced him into flying the helicopter to Korydallos prison, where they produced an assault rifle.

It remains unknown why the two notorious criminals, who had been kept in solitary confinement, were allowed to take their daily walk together. The helicopter arrived five minutes after their entry into the courtyard.

After circling the prison grounds twice, the helicopter touched down on the roof of the third wing.

According to prison guards, the two convicts threw a makeshift hook up to the helicopter and boarded the helicopter within seconds.

They also revealed how Palaiokostas and Rizaj had blocked the entrance to the yard by tying bag straps to the doors.

A massive manhunt for the two escaped convicts, involving roadblocks and checking the abandoned helicopter for fingerprints and DNA, had revealed no leads at the time of going to press.

Clean (or Ash) Monday is a public holiday in Greece which marks the end of the carnival festive season and the start of Lent or the period of fasting until Easter. Weather permitting, people spend Clean Monday outdoors, organizing picnics while children fly kites. Children make "Kyra Sarakosti," (Lady Lent), a paper doll with seven legs to represent the seven weeks of Lent. Every week, a leg is cut off to show how many weeks remain until Easter.

Since it marks the beginning of the fasting period special food is eaten on this day. Eating red meat, poultry, fish or dairy products is not permitted. However, a host of other dishes and delicacies is available: lagana (a special unleavened bread eaten only on this day), taramosalata (a fish roe spread), dolmadakia (vine leaves stuffed with rice), grilled octopus, gigantes plaki (oven-baked broad beans), seafood salads and shellfish as well as a special semolina pudding known as halvas are just some of them.

Greece-ing the wheels
Recently finding that her Canadian driving licence had expired,, Maria applied to do a Greek driving test. Although she was an experienced driver, something recognised by her instructor, she ended up paying a bribe of 200 euros in order to pass her test.
"I paid it through my driving instructor, who assured me that it was impossible to pass otherwise as 95 per cent of the examiners are corrupt. The cost of retaking the driving exam is 150 euros, so it seemed like the safest option"
Maria's experience is not unusual. Last year, citizens in Greece handed over approximately 750 million euros in small bribes to officials in the state and private sector in return for services, according to Transparency International (TI) Greece.

Average corruption payments (in euros)

Public Sector	Average	Min	Max

Hospitals	869	50	6000
Planning offices	2169	30	15000
Tax offices	2363	60	30000
Transport Ministry	222	20	1000

Private Sector
Hospitals	4543	60	80000
Lawyers	811	50	4000
Banks	2282	56	8000
Doctors	1204	100	3000
Medical Clinics	3336	150	10000
Driving Schools	272	200	500
Car-testing Centres	48	20	100

The research, conducted by pollster Public Issue on behalf of the corruption watchdog, surveyed a total of 6105 citizens over a period of 6 months.

Press Releases

Airport Fees Cut

Landing, takeoff and stopover fees at Greece’s regional and in particular insular airports are about to be scrapped from April until September, the Ministries of Transport and Tourism announced on Saturday. This comes as part of a general government effort to promote tourism, especially in the islands which are more sensitive to this year’s volatile tourist climate. Foreign tour operators will be offered incentives to maintain the same number of charter flights to Greece and will be paid in advance through a €60 million tourism stimulus package which includes Greece’s advertising campaign

BANK OF GREECE: ABSORBING THE SHOCK

Bank of Greece’s governor George Provopoulos predicted on Thursday that there will not be a second package of financial support to Greek banks. Speaking in Parliament, during a testimony over the central bank’s monetary policy report, Provopoulos said: “According to what we know at this moment, there is no need for a second package.”

Commenting on Greek banks’ investments in Southeastern Europe, the central banker said that the institutions have other ways of financing their investments abroad. He said that banks could use savings from one country and transfer them to another country. He added that the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem was filling in for a liquidity gap created by a freezing of international capital markets.

Provopoulos said that the country simply cannot sacrifice what it has invested over the last few years in Southeast Europe, because of the current difficult situation, adding that Greek investments in the region were more than just a financial presence. “Greek banks have an adequate, strong capital position, capable of absorbing shocks,” he said.

How Safe is the Greek Real Estate Market Today?

The credit crunch that has affected developed countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain has put a damper on the real estate markets all over the world.

The Greek real estate market is not exempted from the speculation that it may be just as unstable as the real estate markets elsewhere across the globe.

However, there are indicators that show that the Greek real estate market is as safe and stable as they go. In fact, these indicators tell us that this is actually the best time to buy real estate in Greece. You can read these indicators below.

Long-Term Investments

Floundering real estate markets all over the world share one characteristic: The people who pose losses in it are the ones who buy property in order to sell them for profit a year or so later. Naturally, given the conditions of real estate markets today, one cannot expect to turn in a profit from buying and selling homes today.

However, this is not true in the Greek real estate market. Greek buyers are more into buying homes with long-term investments in mind. They are either making the purchase so that they would have a retirement home in the future, or so that they would have something for their children to inherit. In the meantime, they rent out these villas to holiday-goers for added income. This trend in the Greek real estate market lends a semblance of stability into it.

Low Interest Rates on Housing Loans

Another characteristic possessed by many failing real estate markets in the world is the fact that the interest on housing loans are at an all-time high. Debtors could no longer afford to pay the mortgage on their homes and are, therefore, forced to let banks foreclose their properties. Banks, on the other hand, are saddled with foreclosed homes that they could not sell.

The Greeks, however, are aware of the rising interests on housing loans. Many of them do not avail of these loans as they buy real estate even though they are eligible for them. Banks in Greece are also being enjoined to lower their interest rates on housing loans by the end of 2009.

Real Estate Stability

Despite negative reportage, the Greek real estate market is actually quite stable. Whilst it is true that there are many construction and development companies as well as individuals that are selling their holdings in a frantic manner, to the point that they are willing to negotiate discounts and deductions just to get rid of them, this is more like the exemption rather than the rule.

There have been fluctuations in prices in Greek real estate, but these fluctuations are not as extreme as those experienced in other real estate markets. In 2009, there is a very low likelihood that prices will increase or decrease for real estate in Greece. Moreover, the demand for real estate in Greece remains high and banks remain discerning in screening people who are eligible for housing loans.

The real estate market in Greece remains healthy despite the financial crisis that has crippled major economies in the world. The prospects are also positive, and as thus, it is as good a time to buy real estate in Crete and Greece right now as ever.

Article by Andreas Batakis.