Thessaloniki Port Authority (OLP) and Hellenic Seaplanes submitted an application to the Transport Ministry this week for the creation of a metropolitan waterway which will hopefully be operational during the 2016 season.
The aim of the project is to establish Thessaloniki as a waterway hub that can cater to at least four seaplanes and provide the necessary operational support to companies planning to operate from the port city in order boost its connection with the rest of mainland Greece and the islands
OLP aspires that the Northern Greece waterway network – with Thessaloniki as its hub – will serve via routes to and from destinations in the North Sea, Macedonia, Thrace, but also neighboring countries.
Furthermore, port customs will provide the flexibility for the waterway network to expand its activity so that it can serve international flights in the future.
Hellenic Seaplanes Chairman and CEO Nicolas Charalambous underlined that “this is a project of national importance, and we will soon have a viable waterways network in place that will give a new impetus to the connectedness of Greece, and added that “our company has already started procedures for licensing, construction and operation of waterways along the coasts, on islands and at lakes, which will soon be interconnected via seaplane services.”
Over 50 waterways across Greece are currently in the process of gaining authorization to proceed and if all goes according to schedule, within 2016, tourists as well as local residents will be able to fly in many Greek destinations with hydroplanes.
