In a move that comes late, the Mayor of Kythera, Efstratios Harhalakis, sent a letter to the Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr. Vasilios Economou, regarding the de-listing of the project extension of the runway of the Kythera State Airport «Alexandros Aristotelous Onassis» from the budget of the Region of Attica for 2025.
In the letter, the Mayor recalls the importance of the project for the tourist and economic development of the island, while stating that the Feasibility study has been approved since 2019 and the facility's AEP was renewed in March 2023.
However, the questions remain and they are relentless:
- What actions did the Mayor take before the project was removed from the District's budget?;
- How is it possible that the Municipal Authority had not mobilized earlier, given that the Mayor was aware of the Region's planning?;
- Why did not the meeting for the airport, which was promised in the summer by Mr. Harhalakis to the Tourist Accommodation Association «CeriGo», take place in the autumn?;
The letter, though necessary, seems to come afterwards, at a time when the project is already off budget and the local community is in turmoil. Reactions are strong, as the lack of coordinated action and the delay in highlighting the problem place serious responsibilities on the municipal authority.
The case of Kythera airport is mirror of inadequacy in the management of development projects concerning the island. Residents and stakeholders are asking for answers and in particular Acts, before a project of vital importance for the future of the country is lost.
The Mayor's responses are now imperative; the Mayor's letter follows:
ΑYour Honour, Minister,
For more than 10 years, the local community of Kythera, the professionals and tourism-related businesses, as well as the tour operators operating on the island, have been seeking and demanding the extension of the runway of the landing and take-off runway at the Kythera State Airport «Alexandros Aristotelous Onassis», a project for which the Feasibility Study has been completed and approved since 2019 by decision of the CAA (no. Decision no.: DTY/D7/A/6622/936/07-03-2019 - ID: 673Φ465XΘΞ-B1Ξ).
The renewal of the AEPO of the existing facilities of the CAC was done on 01-03-2023 (AOA: R45Ψ4653Π8-ΕΙ3).
Since then, the fate of the maturation of all the necessary studies for the corridor extension project has been put on hold. Despite the fact that the Region of Attica had for years committed an amount of 400.000,00€ for the completion of the studies, in the Budget of 2025, this amount was completely deleted, resulting in the local community to be in turmoil for the fate of a hugely important development project for the island of Kythera.
In view of the above, please kindly inform us of the Government's intentions regarding this project and the overall development and enhancement of the capabilities and infrastructure of Kythera Airport.
The Mayor
Eustratios Charhalakis
See the document here:
