“We have a tangible plan, with 10 aircraft, and we hope that once the licensing procedures, which are already being finalised at the European level, are finalised, we will put the plan into action.”
This is stated by Mr. Gerasimos Pantazatos, CEO of Aria Hotels and Chairman of the newly established company ”Aria Wings” a subsidiary of the Libra Group of the Logothetis Group in the context of the implementation of its future plan for flights with electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft –eVTOL. Athens, Chalkidiki, Naxos will be included, according to him, in the first routes of the new company, once the licensing-regulatory part is finalized, “which we believe will not be so difficult since it has already proceeded in the U.S. and is proceeding within the EU”. The international approval processes include, among other things, the certification of electric aircraft, while a first milestone- target set for the start of flights is towards the end of 2026.
The aim of the newly established company, in the management of which Mr. Grigoris Konstantellos, mayor of Varis – Voula – Vouliagmeni from the position of managing director and having previous experience as a pilot, is, among other things, “air transport services for passengers, freight, non-regular domestic air transport services for passengers, except for tours, aircraft and helicopter charter services without crew, regular international air transport services for passengers, etc.”. As stated in this regard, it will serve, in addition to travelers, the islanders themselves, transporting even sensitive goods.
The establishment of the company is part of the plan already announced by Aria Hotels, a Greek subsidiary of the Libra Group, for the construction and operation of four vertiports – vertical take-off and landing vehicle terminals – in Greece, which will support electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Aria Hotels has leased 10 such aircraft through an agreement with LCI, a subsidiary of Libra Group and aircraft lessor.
A prerequisite, of course, as mentioned above, is that the regulatory procedures at the European and national level must also proceed in order for such transport to become operational in a broader context within the EU. The discussion within the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is ongoing, given the requests that have been submitted for these flights. Indicatively as argued, eVTOL aircraft present advantages such as environmental sustainability as they produce zero in-flight emissions, reducing air pollution and supporting global efforts to combat climate change, reduced noise pollution, operational efficiency for faster alternatives for short and medium range travel.
