site.btaGreek Farmers Withdraw from Heraklion Airport but Continue Nationwide Road Blockades

Protesting Greek farmers removed the blockade at Nikos Kazantzakis International Airport in Heraklion, the capital of the island of Crete, after negotiations, the country's state broadcaster ERT reported on Tuesday, citing a statement by the airport’s director, Iakovos Ouranos.

According to Ouranos, flight schedules to and from Heraklion are returning to normal. The protesters are expected to decide on the next steps in their mobilization.

The airport was first blocked by farmers at midday on Monday, when they managed to break through police lines after clashes and reached the runway. Operations at the airport were restored for a few hours around 6 p.m. on Monday to allow stranded passengers to depart.

TV channel Skai reported, citing its own information, that the authorities have identified participants in the clashes with police and that they are expected to face charges of involvement in an organized criminal group. During the clashes — in which protesters threw stones at police, who responded with tear gas — initial reports indicated that one police officer was injured, with claims of a further seven people hurt. A police car was overturned.

The airport in Crete’s other major city, Chania, is operating normally, according to local media.

In its online edition, the newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton wrote that at the Promachonas border checkpoint on the Bulgarian border, farmers have decided to extend the daily closure period for trucks, although no specific time interval was given.

Blockades remain in place on key roads across Greece. As reported by the ANA-MPA news agency, at a meeting near Thessaloniki on Monday, protesters decided to widen the scope of their actions, planning attempts to block the Kalochori oil refinery and the port of Thessaloniki. Some protesters have also proposed attempting to block the port of Volos on Wednesday.

Greek agricultural producers began protest actions, with road blockades, more than a week ago. The main reason for their discontent is a delay in the payment of agricultural subsidies due to a corruption scandal at the OPEKEPE payments agency.