Why Greek Ticket Agent Travelplanet24 – airtickets.gr Almost Went Offline

Greek online ticket agent Travelplanet24 – airtickets.gr intended to go offline recently due to the capital controls imposed on Greek banks in the run-up to the June 5 referendum, which has kept Greek banking institutions closed for almost two weeks.

Travelplanet24 CEO Philipp Brinkmann was interviewed by Greek website startupper.gr and said that the e-banking restriction made it impossible for the company to carry out the bulk of its payments in Greece.

As a consequence, payments via credit cards began to accumulate with the company fearing that a large part of its account would be lost either to a potential “haircut” or a possible “Grexit”.

Mr Brinkmann concluded, however, that despite the difficult financial situation, he has decided to keep the sites running despite the potential risk factor involved, but he is urging the government to “reach a solution as soon as possible”.

Following is Mr. Brinkmann’s interview (in Greek).