Greece’s Olympic Airlines wins cash reprieve from court
I guess this is temporary good news…..but they still owe a few hundred million dollars to the government…. that’s a lot of tickets to Mykonos that they have to sell!
The Associated PressPublished: December 20, 2006
ATHENS, Greece: A Greek court Wednesday awarded struggling national carrier Olympic Airlines €563.9 million ($744.5 million) in compensation for unpaid services provided to the Greek state, the airline said.
The ruling could ease pressure on Olympic from the European Commission, which has ordered the airline to return more than €700 million ($924 million) in illegal state subsidies.
In a statement late Wednesday, airline division Olympic Airways Services SA said “the decision of the arbitration court vindicates the position of (the company).”
Olympic claimed the compensation for unpaid services to the airline on legally subsidized routes to remote Greek islands, travel for senior government officials and conscripts, and relocation to a new airport outside Athens in 2001.
Transport Minister Michalis Liapis said the court’s decision would help the Greek government in its legal wrangle with the Commission.