SIA to fly to Athens for four months in 2014

[SINGAPORE] A year after suspending flights to the Greek capital, Singapore Airlines (SIA) yesterday said that it will temporarily offer flights to Athens between June and October next year to capitalise on the peak summer travel season.

"Singapore Airlines took the difficult decision to suspend year-round services to Athens in October 2012 after a prolonged period of challenging operating conditions," the airline said in a media statement released yesterday. At the time, it had also axed services to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates due to sustained weakness on both routes. SIA had first launched flights to Athens back in 1972 before suspending the route last year, which it said at the time was in line with its policy to match capacity with market demand.

Flights from Singapore to Athens will be operated twice a week - on Mondays and Thursdays - using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft starting June 9, 2014 until Oct 9, 2014. SQ382 will depart from Singapore at 2.05am and arrive in Athens at 8.30am while SQ 381 will depart from Athens at 1pm and arrive at 4.55am the next morning in Singapore. Greece isn't the only country that SIA has renewed plans for.