Emirates confirms halting ticket sales by travel agents in Greece

Dubai airline Emirates has confirmed that it has halted ticket sales made through travel agents and operators in Greece even as the European country faces an unprecedented economic crisis.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “Emirates can confirm that we have made a commercial decision to temporarily halt the sale of Emirates tickets made through travel agents and tour operators in Greece.

“These measures will be reviewed again in due course and we apologise for any inconvenience caused to both our customers and valued travel partners in the interim.”

The airline clarified that customers looking to book their travel with Emirates from Greece can visit the Emirates sales office in Athens or book via phone or online.

Emirates has been flying to Greece for nearly 20 years now and the airline said the route is amongst its top performing destinations in Europe.

The carrier said it carried over 224,000 business and leisure passengers to and from Greece in the last financial year alone.

Meanwhile other airlines such as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have also stopped allowing Greek travel agents to sell their tickets, president of the Hellenic Association of Travel and Tourist Agencies Lysandros Tsilidis told Reuters.

“We consider this inexcusably tough,” he said. “Even though they have been our partners for years and even though we have already paid 82 per cent of what we owe to them during this season.”

Greece defaulted on its loan to the International Monetary Fund last month, triggering a knock-on effect on the economy.

The country imposed a 60-euro daily limit on withdrawals from cash machines after the European Central Bank halted emergency funding for the banks.

The nation, facing a potential exit from the Eurozone, could descend into bankruptcy if it is unable to settle on a deal with its creditors by Sunday.