Travel agency owners have been put on alert OPAP, as these have remained closed for months due to lockdown and the industry has now reached its limits.
OPAP agents are asking the government to allow them to reopen and pledge that, for their part, as always, they will continue to comply with all preventive and protective measures against the pandemic.
Here is a detailed account of what the OPAP agents state in their letter, in which they ask the relevant government ministers to resume the operation of the agencies.
To the Relevant Ministries Regarding the Reopening of Travel Agencies – January 25, 2021
To:
Mr. Georgios Gerapetritis, Minister of State
Mr. Christos Staikouras, Minister of Finance
Mr. Adonis – Spyridonas Georgiadis, Minister of Development and Investment
Mr. Apostolos Vesyropoulos, Deputy Minister of Finance
Mr. Nikolaos Papathanasis, Deputy Minister of Development and Investment
To: Mr. Georgios Kavvathas, President of G.S.E.V.E.E.
Athens, January 25, 2021
Honorable Ministers,
For the past year, our country has been facing unprecedented circumstances due to the pandemic. Driven by a sense of responsibility toward society, we, the OPAP agents, have stood by society in every effort to prevent and limit the spread of COVID-19, adhering to the strictest health and safety measures.
Now, after two lockdowns, our stores have been closed for more than five months. During this entire period, our revenue has been zero, and the nearly 4,000 OPAP retail outlets—with the approximately 20,000 employees who work there— have reached the point where they are worried about their very survival.
After months of waiting, we had expected to be able to reopen our stores this week. Finally, last Friday, we were informed that the committee of infectious disease specialists had requested additional time to evaluate the data and that the reopening of our agencies would be considered for February 1.
We hope that the experts’ recommendation will be positive and that, starting next week, we will be able to welcome customers to our stores. In any case, as POEPPP, we must sound the alarm, as our industry has reached its limits. We are already facing enormous difficulties in meeting our obligations, and the situation becomes even more difficult with every day that our agencies remain closed.
For our part, we are committed to strictly adhering to all measures to prevent and protect against the pandemic. We have proven this, after all, during previous phases of the pandemic, when our stores’ compliance with government measures was exemplary and not a single case of COVID-19 was reported across our network.
In the interest of public health, our stores provide hand sanitizer, masks, and protective gloves for customers and staff.
In addition, our stores are equipped with modern ventilation systems, and measures are in place to ensure social distancing, prevent overcrowding, and regularly disinfect common areas and surfaces.
In addition, OPAP itself closely monitors the strict implementation of health and safety measures through continuous and rigorous monitoring mechanisms that the company has established. At the same time, the company has developed a plan for preventive and random COVID-19 testing, with the aim of further strengthening the health protection of our network.
Based on the above, we believe that stores will be allowed to reopen as of February 1, provided that the necessary pandemic-related measures are in place, thereby putting an end to the anxiety of thousands of workers and their families.
On behalf of the POEPPP Board of Directors
The Secretary-General The President
Konstantinos Boulogeorgos Georgios Poulimas
