Aopa Hellas

Dear friends,

We gladly present you the article from the AOPA USA website, in which describes the reasons for the visit of president Phil Boyer in Athens:

At the invitation of AOPA-Hellas, IAOPA President Phil Boyer visited Athens from 24-27 November to work with high-level government officials in creating a better environment for general aviation in Greece. Boyer and AOPA-Hellas President Yiouli Kalafati met with the Ministers of Defence, Transportation, Communications and Tourism to discuss better facilities and provisions for general aviation, especially for the reopening of Athens' Hellinikon Airport, its only general aviation airport. The airport was closed to accommodate this year's summer Olympics and has not been reopened. Boyer was optimistic about the meetings, commenting, "The officials I met with were receptive to the idea of reopening Hellinikon for GA."

Boyer also participated in the AOPA-Hellas Aviation Day in which government dignitaries, civil aviation officials, and others promoted general aviation. "The number one problem is the lack of a general aviation airport in Athens, home to almost half of the Greek population," said Boyer. "And like so many examples in other countries, the problem was created by the closure of two perfectly good GA airports. But, the concerted efforts of local organizations can save our valuable airports."

Additionally, Boyer participated in the semi-annual IAOPA European Regional Meeting, held the day after the Aviation Day presentations in Athens. The meeting served to air issues of mutual importance and to provide a platform for developing new regional strategies. Boyer complimented participants on their efforts to improve conditions for general aviation and aerial work in Europe.

AOPA helps in fight for Athens (Greece) airport

America leads the world in aviation, which also means that we lead the world in aviation problems and ways to solve them. That's why AOPA President Phil Boyer found himself in Greece during the Thanksgiving holiday.

AOPA-Hellas (Greece) President Yiouli Kalafati invited Boyer, who also serves as president of the 60-country International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA), to lend some international clout and experience to efforts to reopen a general aviation airport in the Greek capital and expand general aviation access throughout the country. Thanks to that high-profile IAOPA presence, Greek general aviation pilots got audiences with some of the country's aviation "heavy hitters," including the minister of defense, the deputy minister of transportation and communications, the minister of tourism, and the head of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority.

"The number one problem is the lack of a general aviation airport in Athens, home to almost half of the Greek population," said Boyer. "And like so many examples here in the United States, the problem was created by the closure of two perfectly good GA airports."

That parallels the issues in Austin, Texas, where the old commercial service airport (Robert Mueller Memorial Airport) and a general aviation facility (Executive Airport) were closed without adequate replacements for GA.

In Greece, officials closed the general aviation airport at Marathon (26 miles from Athens) to create a linear water park for Olympic rowing events. They closed Athens' Hellinikon Airport (LGAT) and replac