Mass – departure of excursions for Easter with occupancy even exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

By car, ship, plane and bus, the Athenians left the capital, rushing to popular destinations within the country and beyond.

Ferries to the Cyclades are 95% full.

With regard to coastal ferry routes, the Coast Guard has taken all necessary measures to facilitate passengers and vehicles.

Those intending to travel should be at the ship’s departure dock earlier due to increased traffic on the perimeter roads around the ports.

The highest occupancy (95%) is observed on the islands of the Cyclades.

It is expected that today 14 routes to the Aegean Islands and 31 to the Argosaronic Islands will be operated from the port of Piraeus, while 12 routes are planned from the port of Rafina and 9 from Lavrio.

Yesterday, Thursday, 19 ships with 21,853 passengers left the port of Piraeus, and 34 ships with 9,198 passengers set off for the Argosaronic Islands.

15 vessels with 9,076 passengers departed from the port of Rafina, and 10 vessels with 2,715 passengers departed from Lavrio.

According to factors in the shipping market, shipping is expected to increase by 25-30% this year compared to 2022.

It is recalled that last year, without restrictive measures after the pandemic, more than 210,000 travelers left the ports of Attica for the Easter holidays (from 15.04 to 25.04).

Maundy Thursday left 122,820 cars

The entire traffic police detachment has been on foot since early morning to facilitate traffic on the roads, as it is expected that excursions from city centers will continue today.

Patrol cars, motorcycles and ordinary vehicles with appropriate personnel and equipment are on high operational alert to effectively patrol the country’s road network and implement enhanced measures in place to ensure the safe movement of citizens and the prevention and prevention of traffic accidents.

The Road Traffic Department estimates that the Easter fever will peak in the next few hours and begin to ease into the early afternoon hours.

Currently, the departure of the Easter sightseers is running smoothly, traffic on both the Athens-Korinth highway and the Athens-Lamia highway has a steady flow.

We remind you that today, on Good Friday, from 06:00 am to 04:00 pm, the movement of trucks with a maximum permissible weight of more than 3.5 tons is prohibited at the exit from the republican roads.

According to traffic data, this year has seen an increase in the number of vehicles leaving the pool compared to the same period in 2022, which was also the first year that Easter was celebrated without restrictions since the pandemic.

In particular, this year, from Holy Monday morning to 6 am today, 311,220 cars passed through the toll gates to Corinth and Lamia, while 291,141 cars drove through the corresponding period last year.

An indicative indicator of the number of people who left is that within 24 hours, from 6 am on Maundy Thursday to 6 am today. To date, 50,620 vehicles have traveled on the toll road to Lamia, and 72,200 vehicles on the toll road.

Almost 100% load in KTEL

In terms of bus travel, the occupancy reaches approximately 100% from Kifisos and Liosion KTEL.

In particular, Sophocles Fazios, president of the Panhellenic Federation of Intercity Motorists, told APE-MPE that traffic at both intercity bus stations is higher than last year, but also increased compared to 2019.

In fact, according to Mr. Fazios, Thessaloniki has more capacity and additional routes, since after the tragic incident in Tempi, passengers seem to prefer buses for their transportation. For example, last year on Maundy Thursday there were 10 routes to Thessaloniki, while yesterday on Maundy Thursday there were 30, and today on Good Friday 20.

Destinations with 100% occupancy and with additional routes from Good Wednesday to today Good Friday from Kifissos are Western Greece and Peloponnese, and from Lyosion station – Chalkis, Karpenissi, Larissa, Volos, Lamia and Katerini. Compared to last year, we have an increase in routes at both stations by more than 40%.

As of today, Good Friday, 300 routes are planned from Kifissos KTEL station and 100 from Liosion. There will be fewer buses from both stations on Good Saturday, however, if necessary, routes will be added.

Wherever he goes, he also flies through the air

Aircraft occupancy exceeds 85-90% depending on the destination.

As for air travel, according to Eleftherios Venizelos:

• Yesterday on Maundy Thursday we had only 630 flights (departure – arrival),
• Today, Good Friday, 594 flights are scheduled (298 departures and 296 arrivals),
• There will be 555 flights on Good Saturday (279 departures and 276 arrivals),
• 481 flights are scheduled for Easter Sunday (243 departures and 239 arrivals),
• On Easter Monday, 618 flights are scheduled (304 departures and 314 arrivals).
• There are 605 flights scheduled for Easter Tuesday (304 departures and 301 arrivals).

According to AEGEAN, from Good Wednesday until today Good Friday, domestic flight occupancy reaches over 90% in Athens and over 95% in Thessaloniki.

The most popular destinations from Athens with high traffic are: Mytilene, Heraklion, Chios, Rhodes, Paros, Lemnos, Santorini, Karpathos. Accordingly, the most popular destinations from Thessaloniki are: Mykonos, Santorini, Chios, Lemnos, Mytilini, Chania.

As for the international network from Athens, the main destinations are: Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Hamburg, Marrakech and Budapest. We had high occupancy in foreign destinations for the Easter period from Athens to Zurich, Geneva, Amsterdam, Brussels, Munich, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, London, Milan, Larnaca, Sofia. From Thessaloniki, the most popular destinations were: Larnaca, Rome, Berlin, Milan, Munich and Düsseldorf.