Flights to and from Greece grounded as country faces more strikes

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: More than 60 flights out of Athens were cancelled

Government offices were closed, hospitals worked with a skeleton staff and Greek airspace was shut down as Greece faced its seventh major strike against austerity measures on Thursday.

Greek public sector workers were joined on Thursday by air traffic controllers and doctors in a nationwide strike against the labor reforms and austerity measures the government has unveiled to solve its debt crisis.

Flights to and from Greece were grounded, hospitals operated with emergency staff only and tax, municipal and judicial offices remained closed across Greece. According to officials at Athens’ International Airport, more than 60 international and domestic flights were cancelled, with another 131 rescheduled. Air traffic controllers are expected to be back on the job by 1 p.m. local time.

Later on Thursday, the civil servants union Adedy was planning to stage a demonstration outside of parliament, where lawmakers are preparing to pass a major retirement reform bill. Rallies were expected in Thessaloniki as well as Athens.

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