In Brief
AIR TRAFFIC
Ticket-holders asked to arrive alone Athens International Airport yesterday enforced special measures to ensure flights run smoothly today, when it is expecting to handle a record-breaking 884 flights as Olympic athletes and visitors leave Athens. More than 2,800 aircraft are expected to fly through Greek air space today – another record. To minimize inconvenience to travelers and avoid delays, only ticket-holders will be admitted to the departure area today and tomorrow. Entry to the area will not be permitted more than three hours before the scheduled flight time, and travelers are not to arrive with non-traveling companions. Salonica blaze A massive fire that broke out in a five-story building within the popular Mylos entertainment complex in western Thessaloniki around midnight on Friday caused an estimated 1 million euros’ worth of damage to the block and neighboring buildings, firemen said on Saturday after extinguishing the blaze. It is believed that the fire was caused by a short circuit on one of the floors of the «Petrino» building. Hundreds of patrons outside Petrino and other adjacent open-air bars were unharmed. The Mylos complex, built on an old industrial site, had been operating since the early 1990s. Club parking Nightclub owners across the country have been granted an extension until March 31 next year to rent or buy adequate parking places for their patrons or have their licenses revoked, according to a draft presidential decree which has been approved by the Council of State, court sources said yesterday. According to the draft decree, the number of parking places provided should be at a 1-6 ratio compared to the number of seats in the establishment. The decree applies to all nightclub owners in the prefectures of Attica and Thessaloniki and in all towns with more than 10,000 inhabitants. Rhodes fire About 30 hectares of land in Tholos on western Rhodes – near the Valley of the Butterflies natural park – was destroyed by a fire that broke out on Saturday evening. Five water-carrying aircraft and two helicopters participated in the effort to extinguish the blaze. It was not clear what provoked the fire. Migrants detained Port Authority officials detained a total of 20 illegal immigrants yesterday, the Merchant Marine Ministry said. A group of 12 immigrants were detained on Chios after an inflatable boat they had traveled in from neighboring Turkey started taking on water, according to the ministry. Also yesterday, officials on Lesvos detained eight immigrants who had reached the island in an inflatable rowboat from Turkey, the ministry said. The migrants destroyed the boat while they were being arrested, it added. Aircraft problem A Scandinavian Airlines flight to Copenhagen with 180 people aboard was forced to return to Athens early yesterday afternoon after it experienced a a problem with landing equipment, airline officials said. None of the passengers aboard the aircraft – who included members of the «Olympic family» – were harmed, they said. The aircraft was due to take off later yesterday following an inspection by mechanics, according to officials at Athens International Airport.
