NEWS

Church bid to save OA flights to Australia

Plans by Greece’s cash-strapped state airline to discontinue its flights to Australia, where close to a million Greek immigrants live, were denounced yesterday by local Greek Orthodox Church officials who compared the arrival of Olympic Airways jets to «the rising of the flag.» «Expressing the common sentiments of the Greek-Australian community, the Archbishopric of Australia wishes to categorically declare that it considers the prospect of Olympic Airways flights being stopped or even reduced to be unacceptable,» a statement made public yesterday said. «Not only practical matters should be taken into consideration, but also the sensitivities and the prestige of the Greek-Australian community,» the archbishopric said. Olympic is believed to lose some 30 million euros annually on its Athens to Sydney and Athens to Melbourne routes, and is mulling shutting them down from the end of October.

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