Hellenic CAA has announced a radical change in the refuelling situation in Greece which will further help to boost general aviation in Greece.

Under old legislation, all general aviation refueling in Greece was by law restricted to big international oil companies like BP and Shell for ‘safety reasons’. Since demand for such fuel was very low, the big companies operated only a handful of refuelling stations – only eight out of 42 Greek airports provided refuelling capabilities, and that was restricted to AVGas 100LL; no MOGas was available.

Recognizing that the refuelling situation was a major obstacle to the development of GA, the new HCAA leadership has taken bold steps to attack the problem. Under new legislation it is now legal for all GA organisations like flying schools and aero clubs to open and operate their own refuelling facilities. Yiouli Kalafati of AOPA-Hellas says that these new stations will be able to offer both MOGas and AVGas at much cheaper prices. “As soon as the new legislation was published, more than 10 GA operators declared their decision to built their own refueling stations and start operations before the end of 2009,” she said. “It is anticipated that almost all Greek airports will have GA refuelling capabilities before the end of 2010. Thus, we hope, GA in Greece will take another leap forward.”