Here are some news, picked up from local mass media.
According to local press, Costa Crociere (Costa Cruises) is examining the launch of 7-days cruises around the Aegean utilizing Rhodes port as a home-port. This is great news for Diagoras Airport because the 2.800 passengers of the cruise ship will arrive and depart from Rhodes by air. We hope to a successful completion of the ongoing negotiations.
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Rhodes officials seem to be concerned as Ryanair has not yet released their winter schedule for Rhodes making rumors spread that they are quitting for the winter period. Local tourism related businesses are also affected as they can not plan ahead lacking Ryanair’s winter schedule thus customers. Ryanair commending on the situation reassured the locals that there is no reason to concern.
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Aegean Airlines, in an issue that might be related to the directly above mentioned, is exploring opportunities for further expansion at Rhodes. Company’s vice president visited Rhodes and held meetings with the Hotel Owners Association as well as the South Aegean region governor. Issues examined focused on the possible assistance of Aegean in the lengthening of the tourism season, a target set by the whole island, and also on the co-operation in student trips that years ago brought on the island some 40.000 students from around Greece but fainted the last years as air ticket prices for Rhodes were higher than destinations abroad.
Anyway, we -at last- welcome the interest of a Greek dominant carrier to involve seriously with tourism and secretly hope that Aegean will relocate a couple of aircrafts here establishing a base at Diagoras Airport.