Astypalaia has had only one weekly sailing connecting it to Kos and Rhodes for ten months, despite belonging to the Dodecanese, Mayor Nikos Komineas told the annual conference of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece in Kalamata on 5–7 November.
Speaking at a session on mountain and island communities, he described the effect of sparse services on daily life. A resident needing hospital care on Kos cannot travel there promptly by scheduled ferry. Even a visit to a court or tax office can mean several days away from the island.
Funding lifeline routes
Komineas criticised the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy over funding for lifeline routes and asked what it would do to protect islanders from the effects of poor connections.
He also called for interest-free loans to help young families buy their first homes and for social housing on small islands. Small municipalities, he said, already have to offer financial support to doctors, teachers and other public servants to keep essential services running. He urged the government to take concrete decisions: ‘We want to get on with the job. Please, finally, turn words into action.’
