Giannis Pappas has raised an urgent public health and passenger safety issue with Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis in Parliament, calling for the first-aid clinic at Rhodes' Diagoras Airport to operate with a full complement of staff.
His intervention cites the existing legislation, specifically the regulation on airport fire safety and first-aid clinics, Decision D3/G/5650/1948/2017, Government Gazette 769/B/10 March 2017. It states that providing, operating and staffing the clinic is the sole responsibility of the airport operator. Appropriately trained personnel and medical staff must be provided in line with passenger traffic and peak periods.
Despite these requirements, recent reports and incidents raise serious questions about whether a doctor is continuously present at Rhodes International Airport and whether staffing is adequate. The airport's official website makes only a general reference to first aid, without clear information on medical staff or full operating hours.
Pappas stresses that passenger safety, public health and immediate emergency care cannot depend on interpretations of contracts or responsibilities being passed between bodies. He says full and continuous medical cover is a fundamental obligation at one of the country's busiest tourist destinations, with more than seven million passengers annually.
His parliamentary intervention asks whether the clinic has been fully staffed with medical personnel, what action the Health Ministry will take to ensure Fraport Greece fulfils all its obligations, and what specific timetable will secure a doctor's continuous presence throughout airport operating hours, particularly at peak times.
His message is that the health and safety of Rhodes residents and visitors cannot be subject to delays, uncertainty or compromises. Existing laws must be implemented and responsibilities fulfilled.
Giannis Pappas
New Democracy MP for the Dodecanese.
