Athens Olympics flight squeeze forces out cruise ship
A cruise line has been forced to switch sailings away from Athens during August because of the Olympic Games.
Tall ship company Star Clippers normally runs weekly fly-cruise itineraries from the Athens port of Piraeus to the Greek islands.
But the vessel Star Flyer is being re-deployed to Venice due to a shortage of airline seats to the Greek capital during the Olympics.
Star Clippers senior vice-president Anjie McFarlane confirmed: “This is due to the lack of flight availability into Athens during the period of the games. But it gives us the opportunity to offer an alternative series of voyages featuring Venice and the Dalmation coast.”
The vessel will leave Athens on 7 August for an 11-night sailing to Venice and will then run a seven-night cruise along the Croatian coast before returning from Venice on 25 August. Sailings from Athens re-commence on 4 September until the last voyage of the season on 2 October.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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