Greece's Santorini welcomes first cruise ship after quakes

By ANGELOS TSATSIS and STELIOS MISINAS
SANTORINI, Greece (Reuters) - Greece's tourism jewel, Santorini, welcomed its first cruise ship of the year on Sunday after thousands of small earthquakes in February created a state of emergency, forced thousands to flee and had locals fearing the season would be lost.
Millions of tourists flock to Santorini every year, squeezing along its whitewashed cobbled streets to view its famous cliff-top sunset. The increased seismic activity - unprecedented even in a country as quake-prone as Greece - had prompted authorities to shut schools, halt construction and dispatch rescuers to the island.
On Sunday morning, the Celestyal Discovery docked in the sparkling Aegean waters off Santorini with around 1,700 mostly American tourists on board. Celestyal Cruises had taken Santorini off its list earlier this month.
"It's exciting to know that the island's open again and we get to visit first," said 67-year-old Deborah Terry.
Another passenger, Julie Eberly, said she was confident the island was out of danger.
"We trust the tourism board here, so if they said it was safe to come, we came with open arms."
An island of around 20,000 residents, Santorini took its current shape following one of the largest volcanic eruptions in history around 1600 BC. It welcomes around 2.5 million tourists every year and its economy depends almost exclusively on tourism.
Locals said they were pinning their hopes on visitors returning to the island.
"We all hope that things will return to normal, that people will come back," said Tassos Kontos, a shop owner. "The cloud seems to be lifting."
No major damage has been reported on the island following the quakes, but authorities have said they will set up an evacuation port to facilitate the safe escape of people in case a bigger quake hits.
(Writing by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

CNBC

36 minutes ago

• CNBC

U.S. strikes in Iran spark airline cancellations and travel turmoil

Commercial airlines around the world on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights after the U.S. struck Iran. Singapore Airlines, one of the highest-profile in Asia, had called the situation "fluid" on Sunday as it cancelled flights from Singapore to Dubai following a security assessment. The Middle East route has become more important for flights between Europe and Asia since Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed due to war, but flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed empty space over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel. Air France said on Sunday that it cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday. British Airways, owned by IAG, also cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Doha for Sunday. It was still reviewing the situation, it said in a statement on Sunday evening, when asked about later flights. Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic, and an organization that monitors flight risks, Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, warned on Sunday that U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. In the days before the U.S. strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar and United Airlines UAL.O did the same with flights to Dubai. Airlines are also concerned about a potential spike in oil prices following the U.S. attacks, which will increase the cost of jet fuel. Israel meanwhile is ramping up flights to help stranded travellers at home and abroad. The country's Airports Authority says that so-called rescue flights to the country would expand on Monday with 24 a day, although each flight would be limited to 50 passengers. Israeli airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in about a day.

Boston Globe

9 hours ago

• Boston Globe

US boosts emergency Mideast evacuations and travel warnings after Trump orders strikes in Iran

The notice made no mention of any potential evacuation flights or other assistance for private Americans wanting to leave Lebanon but said those who want to should try to use existing commercial services to depart. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up At the same time, the department issued warnings to U.S. citizens in Saudi Arabia and Turkey to take extra security precautions given the uncertainty. Advertisement 'Given reports of regional hostilities, the U.S. Mission to Saudi Arabia has advised its personnel to exercise increased caution and limit non-essential travel to any military installations in the region,' the department said in its notice for Saudi Arabia. In Turkey, the department said U.S. personnel 'have been cautioned to maintain a low profile and instructed to avoid personal travel to the U.S. Consulate Adana consular district,' which includes the NATO airbase at Incirlik. 'Negative sentiment toward U.S. foreign policy may prompt actions against U.S. or Western interests in Turkey,' the statement said. Advertisement Late Saturday, the department said it was stepping up evacuation flights for American citizens from Israel to Europe and continuing to draw down its staff at diplomatic missions in Iraq. But even before the U.S. airstrikes on Iran were made public by President Donald Trump on Saturday evening in Washington, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem had announced the start of evacuation flights for private Americans from Israel. Sixty-seven American citizens left Israel on two government flights bound for Athens, Greece on Saturday and four more evacuation flights to Athens were planned for Sunday, according to internal State Department document seen by The Associated Press. A nongovernment charter flight is scheduled to depart Israel for Rome on Monday. In addition to the flights, a cruise ship carrying more than 1,000 American citizens, including several hundred Jewish youngsters who had been visiting Israel on an organized tour, arrived in Cyprus, according to the document. It also said the evacuation of non-essential personnel at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad and consulate in Erbil is continuing. Those staffers had been ordered to leave even before Israel began its military operation in Iran more than a week ago. 'As part of our ongoing effort to streamline operations, additional personnel departed Iraq on June 21 and 22,' the department said. 'These departures represent a continuation of the process started on June 12.' As of Saturday, more than 7,900 Americans had asked for assistance in leaving Israel and more than 1,000 had sought help in leaving Iran, where the U.S. has no diplomatic presence, the document said. There are roughly 700,000 Americans, many of them dual U.S.-Israeli citizens, in Israel and many thousands of Americans, most of them dual in Iran. It was not clear how many Americans had successfully made it out of Iran through overland routes, although the document said more than 200 had entered neighboring Azerbaijan as of Saturday since the conflict began. Advertisement After the U.S. strikes in Iran, security officers at all U.S. embassies and consulates have been instructed to conduct reviews of their post's security posture and report back to the State Department by late Sunday.

Business Insider

9 hours ago

• Business Insider

Nigeria, Rwanda among 34 African countries hit as Ecuador revokes visa-free transit

Ecuador has announced the cancellation of visa-free transit privileges for citizens of 45 nations, including 34 African countries, in a significant tightening of its immigration and border control policies. Ecuador has abolished visa-free airport transit privileges for citizens of 45 countries, including 34 African nations. Travelers from these nations must now obtain a Transit Visa to transit through Ecuadorian airports. Nigeria, Rwanda, and Ghana are some of the 34 African countries affected, making the continent the most impacted region Under the new directive abolishing visa-free transit privileges, travelers from the affected African countries will now require a Transit Visa (Visa de Transeúnte) to transit through Ecuadorian airports, regardless of whether they remain within the international zone. Previously, citizens of these countries could transit without a visa if they stayed within the international transit area without clearing immigration or customs; however, this exemption has been revoked. According to Ecuador's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility, the measure aims to enhance transit regulations and address growing security concerns related to i rregular migration. This policy change will particularly affect travelers making international stopovers in Ecuador en route to destinations across the American continent. African Nations Hit the Hardest Out of the 45 affected, 34 are Africa countries, making the continent the most impacted by the policy change. Citizens from the following African countries will now require a transit visa: Nigeria Ghana Egypt Sudan Ethiopia Eritrea Somalia Democratic Republic of Congo Republic of Congo Cameroon Liberia Sierra Leone Guinea Guinea-Bissau The Gambia Senegal Togo Benin Mali Niger Burkina Faso Chad Central African Republic Angola Mozambique Zimbabwe Zambia Rwanda Burundi Uganda Algeria Morocco Tunisia South Sudan. With Ecuador serving as a common transit point to the global north, particularly EU and the US, for many from Africa and Global South, the new rule is expected to disrupt travel itineraries, raise travel costs, and redirect flight routes for affected passengers. This policy change reflects a broader trend of nations tightening immigration requirements in response to rising global migration flows and associated security risks, with African migrants being disproportionately affected the most.