Mr Costas Paivanas was scheduled to travel to Athens on Sunday, May the 17th, but was informed by his travel agency that he could be able to get on board.
"My agent told me that I should have sent a request to Canberra and ask permission to travel overseas," Mr Paivanas told SBS Greek.
Late last March, the Australian Border Force announced for those Australian nationals who have to travel abroad.
"In the letter, I ask asking permission to travel to Greece and reunite with my family," said the Greek Australian man.
Mr. Paivanas' wife, Athena, has been in Greece since the beginning of 2020. He had to stay back in Melbourne due to several personal and work-related issues.
"I haven't been seeing my children and grandchildren for 4,5 years. And that's why I wrote to the Australian authorities and I asked to reconnect with my family ", he says.
So far Mr. Paivanas has not decided what he plans to do.
Greek Australian Lemonia Schoina booked her flight to Athens on Monday 27 April, via a travel agency.
Her flight was scheduled for Sunday 10 May, but when she went to Melbourne Airport, she was informed by the Australian Border Force authorities that she is not allowed to get on board.
Ms. Schoina was not fully aware of the restrictions for overseas flights that the Federal Government has imposed since the end of March. She told SBS Greek that Australian authorities would also have to approve her return to Australia. "They will decide when I can return to Australia."
The airline company informed her that she could request a refund or book another flight in the future.
Ms Schoina’s ticket was issued at Peter Alissandratos’ travel agency, who said he was notified about Ms. Schoina’s case immediately and since then has been contacting other clients who have booked imminent flights to Greece.
“I have customers who have booked tickets for next Sunday (17 May) and I'm afraid they'll be stopped by Melbourne Airport’s authorities," Mr Alissandratos told SBS Greek.
He blames airline companies for not having properly informed travel agencies about the current restrictions.
"They should have emailed us and tell us about all the documents that are needed for someone to travel overseas.
All they are asking for now is just passport details," said Mr. Alissandratos.
SBS Greek sought comment from another travel agent, Marina Theofylaktou, who said their message is clear to clients enquiring about an overseas trip:
“Whenever we have clients who want to travel to Greece or Cyprus, we tell them that they can't travel overseas because the airports are closed”.
She further revealed that several Australians who are also holders of Cypriot citizenship, had tried unsuccessfully to travel to Cyprus as early as April.
"They wanted to go to Cyprus to visit their family members, although none of them had any severe health problems. Therefore, they were not allowed to fly”.
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