Aegean Airlines has announced four new air connections between Istanbul and the Greek islands, as well as a new connection between Izmir and Thessaloniki.
The four Greek islands that will be connected with the new direct seasonal flights of Aegean Airlines to Istanbul are Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini.
At an event held at the Sismanoglio Palace in Istanbul, the Consul General of Greece, Ambassador Konstantinos Koutras, and the newly appointed head of the Greek National Tourism Organization (EOT) office, Maria Rahmanidou, presented the new air links between Greece and Turkey to the Turkish public and tourism professionals in an event that was a tourism event.
Ambassador Konstantinos Koutras pointed out the multi-dimensional role that tourism diplomacy can play in Greek-Turkish relations and highlighted the importance of Greece’s new tourism opening to Turkey, in conjunction with the extension for another year of the visa-express program, i.e., the granting of entry visas to Turkish citizens visiting Greek islands. This program, which last year covered ten Aegean islands (Lemnos, Lesvos, Chios, Rhodes, Symi, Kastellorizo, Samos, Leros, Kalymnos, and Kos), this year has added Patmos and Samothrace.
“By improving access to the Greek islands from Istanbul, leisure travel, business partnerships and deeper understanding are encouraged. We believe that enhancing contact through tourism can foster dialogue between Greece and Turkey, building mutual respect and cooperation,” said Ambassador Con. Koutras, encouraging Turkish tour operators, who attended the Consulate General’s event, to introduce Istanbul and the Greek islands to their clients through the new flights that have started over the Aegean Sea.
At the event, which was attended by airline executives and employees, tourism professionals, diplomats and journalists, Aegean Airlines’ Country Manager for Turkey, Mirei Gyoldag, gave a presentation stressing that Greece is a tourist destination for four seasons and suitable for conferences, weddings, yoga and Pilates camps, ski resorts, spas, diving and sailing, among others.
The presentation also included Aegean Airlines’ Istanbul-Heraklion route, which was operated for the first time the day before the event, on 8 April 2025. Flights on the route between Izmir and Thessaloniki will start on 22 June.
