This is how much the State has paid for the Cyprus-Greece ferry link

Economy GreeceTop NewsTourismtravel This is how much the State has paid for the Cyprus-Greece ferry link This Is How May The State Has Paid For The Cyprus Greece Ferry Link Relevant News This is how much the State has paid for the Cyprus-Greece ferry link 12 August 2026 Nafsika Hadjichristou wins critics’ prize at Cyprus animation festival 12 August 2026 Larnaca’s Zinonos Kitieos Street transformed as upgrade nears completion (photos) 12 August 2026 Charalambos Zakos 12 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber The head of the company running the Cyprus-Greece ferry has warned that 2027 could be the last year of sailings unless the government extends its subsidy, describing the route as “not viable” in its present form. Charalambos Manoli, chief executive of contractor Scandro Holding Ltd, said the original plan had failed because the target of a self-sustaining link operating without state money has not been met. The Audit Office takes the opposite view. It considers the subsidy was higher than it needed to be, and that paying it in the way the state did created disincentives for the company. The European Commission approved three years of state support when the route launched in 2022, and that was later extended by another three, taking public funding as far as 2027. From 2028 the link is meant to stand on its own, covering itself through ticket sales and company revenue alone. Weak demand Manoli put the failure down to demand, which he said is low, particularly set against Greece. Sailings run from late May to early September, and he said even those months bring in little, with only August recording full occupancy. Three months cannot generate the revenue needed, he said, and the vessel sits largely unused for the rest of the year because it cannot take on other routes. EU changes push up costs Manoli also pointed to changes that will drive prices up, arguing that any extended subsidy would have to be a larger one. He said ferries lose their exemption from carbon dioxide emission charges at the end of 2029, a decision that will bring increases. Rising fuel prices are a further deterrent to investors, he said. Audit Office findings The Audit Office identified several practices in its latest report that it said work against the route’s viability. It found that guaranteed state compensation for unsold tickets had precisely the opposite effect to the one intended. It also flagged cases where no tickets were available while the vessel was only 69 per cent full. The booking system drew criticism as well: a passenger travelling alone can take a four-berth cabin for less than the price of a single, and there is no penalty for cancelling a ticket. The Audit Office put the level of subsidy at close to 93 per cent and said it could be lower. The company receives 5.47 million euros a year in compensation, plus six per cent of ticket sales. Between 2022 and 2025 the state paid the company a total of 20.4 million euros: 5,208,952.76 in 2022 5,211,755.35 in 2023 4,847,054.78 in 2024 5,171,317.62 in 2025 Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Nafsika Hadjichristou wins critics’ prize at Cyprus animation festival Larnaca’s Zinonos Kitieos Street transformed as upgrade nears completion (photos) On this day: Actor Henry Fonda dies aged 77 in 1982 Things to do on Wednesday, August 12 Mostly sunny Wednesday with highs of 40°C with yellow heat warning in effect Troodos Observatory opens free Perseid meteor shower nights this week Yellow heat warning for Wednesday issued as temperatures hit 40°C Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.