Greek State to Subsidize Ferry Routes to Islands To Keep Connection Alive

Greece’s Ministries of Shipping, Finance, and Growth announced recently that the state will subsidize all ferry connections between the country’s mainland and its islands, in order to keep the minimum amount of cohesion across the country, despite the coronavirus lockdown.
This means that all ferry connections between the Aegean islands and the mainland will continue to operate, no matter how few the number of passengers the vessels may have.
The state will be paying €30,000 a day to every ferry company to continue operating along their normal routes.
The subsidies will be provided for at least one month beginning on April 21, and the initial total amount to be spent is calculated to be around €15 million.
It is noted that only permanent residents of islands are allowed to travel between their island of residence and the Greek mainland now. Tall other citizens are forbidden from traveling to any island whatsoever, to protect the local population from a potential outbreak of the coronavirus.
Greece’s Shipping Minister Giannis Plakiotakis noted that with the additional funding, maintaining the connection of the islands with mainland Greece and supporting their economic and social cohesion will be fully ensured.
Islanders make up approximately fifteen percent of the total population of Greece.