Laws, Regulations & Policies

Greeks wishing to travel will need to obtain a new passport by the end of 2006, regardless of whether or not their existing one will still be valid.

The European Union recently unveiled an ambitious plan for a 20 billion euro air traffic management system to help Europe cope with an expected doubling in the number of flights over the next 15 years.

Disabled airline passengers and those with reduced mobility had their rights formally regulated last month after a EU proposal. According to the ruling, the responsibility for the care of disabled passengers will now be vested not with the airlines but with the airports who are expected to pass the cost, reckoned by the European Commission to be 0.60 euro per passenger overall, back to the airlines as part of the handling charge. Today, airlines charge as much as 5.22 euros.

In a landmark occasion for European air transport, the contract for the definition phase for the Single European Sky Implementation Program was ratified on November 17 by 29 partners in the Air Traffic Alliance, the vice president of the European Commission and the director general of Eurocontrol.

A country’s ill-written travel advisory could be extremely damaging for tourism to the pertinent destination. Fortunately, one of the issues that emerged from the World Tourism Organization’s tourism code of ethics is the proper drafting of travel advisories.

The Association of European Airlines reacted with disappointment last month to the vote in the European Parliament on legislation affecting persons with reduced mobility traveling by air, which would have a direct impact on the services that airlines currently provide for their passengers.

The government has prioritized measures for tourism accommodation that are aimed at bolstering investment in the industry, Anastassios Liaskos, deputy minister for tourism development, said last month during the Sixth Prodexpo Conference and Exhibition for Real Estate.

After decades of indecision, Greece’s Ministry of Mercantile Marine last month forwarded a bill that not only allows recreational diving but also promotes it. “The new diving bill could position Greece prominently into the world’s scuba diving industry and boost the country’s alternative tourism possibilities,” says the ministry.

According to data published recently, more than 40 percent of Greek hotels, an estimated 3,500 out of a total of 8,500, are more or less in violation of zoning regulations.

Greek travel agents soon will no longer be able to issue passports to customers. As of this coming January, Greeks will have to visit one of the 90 new centers being set up around the country where they can obtain or renew their passports, government announced last month. The new offices, as part of a drive to tighten security, will be set up under the auspices of the police.