Greece is trying hard to convince their young people to get the vaccination as it looks apparent that the delta variant will be the dominant strain in Europe by August. It appears that they made a move that will make that happen and Aegean Airlines is helping with it now also.
€150 to Young People for Travel and Entertainment – If Vaccinated
Yesterday (June 29) was the first day that the new “Freedom Pass” went into affect and the number of registrations for vaccinations doubled in Greece as this targeted Greek young people between 18-25. What the so-called “Freedom Pass” is is a card that will be issued to young people (age 18-25) who get at least one shot of a vaccine.
The Greek PM, in introducing it, made it seem more like it was a “gift of gratitude” for the difficulties in the last year but it is a gift with the string of a vaccination tied to it. Younger people had largely been hesitant to get it, presumably because their symptoms had been far lighter than the older generation. But, with €150 being more than many of them may make in a week, this has made many register.
The “Freedom Pass” is good for travel and entertainment, meaning plane and ferry tickets as well as visiting entertainment venues and hotels. Cards will start going out by the end of July.
Today, Aegean Airlines (the flag carrier of Greece) stepped in to say that for every euro of the freedom pass used on a ticket purchase with Aegean, they will offer an additional euro for airline travel. Trips must be booked between September 21 and June 30, 2022.
Greece is desperate to present a good, vaccinated front to the tourists of the world so that they continue to feel comfortable in visiting the Mediterranean nation. They are also desperate to avoid any more nation lockdowns like the one that kept people largely immobile for 6 months.
For those young people who get vaccinated in Greece, getting €300 for travel in Aegean will give them quite a bit of travel! Of course, many may actually use it to vacation outside of Greece so not sure that is actually helping out the Greece economy like the government would like!
