Greece V 2024

Athens Flying Week

Greece V 2024

The Athens Flying Week at Tanagra has been on our agenda for a number of years. And with good reason, the combination of nice weather, interesting aircraft and good food make this trip a very nice excursion. This year we visited this show again with a group.

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11 September 2024

Around 06.30 in the morning on Wednesday 11 September 2024, the travellers for the Athens Flying Week 2024 tour were ready at the well-known meeting point at Schiphol Plaza. Check-in, baggage drop and the usual security all went smoothly. The flight to Athens was right on time. At the airport of Athens, 3 more people joined the group. They had travelled to Athens on their own. Picking up the rental cars took a while, because the rental company insisted that one of the vans would be washed. After the baggage was loaded and everyone had found their place, we drove to Chalkida, where we would be staying for the next few nights. Check-in at our waterfront hotel went smoothly and after a short explanation of the plans for Thursday, everyone could take a moment to relax. In the evening, a large number of participants tested a first local restaurant and found it to be very good.

12 September 2024

This morning, Thursday 12 September 2024, we were expected to report at the gate of Tanagra at 09:00. The spotter passes were ready and the formalities for the cars were quickly completed. Around 09:30 we drove in convoy on to the base towards runway 28. While parking the cars, a handful of Mirage 2000s returned from a mission. With some stress and running everyone found a spot along the taxiway to capture these deltas. A good start. After someone from security had reported to the group, the group was positioned at the ‘contact car’ as usual, awaiting the planned arrivals. At the beginning of the afternoon the wind had turned and with it the runway. Security decided for unclear reasons that we had to go to the grandstand. This was a disappointment, because at the grandstand you are standing quite a distance from the runway (heat haze) and with the turned wind there would be (almost) nothing passing by over the taxiway. Once there, it turned out that the taxiway was also blocked off with red blocks (!). After making this clear to the organisation, there were some frantic phone calls being made including the necessary Greek expletives. The outcome was that the blockade would be removed for Friday and the weekend. In the meantime, a number of foreign participants trickled in. At the beginning of the evening we were escorted to the base exit. Not exactly the most successful day, but in the evening we still enjoyed some culinary delights including a drink (or more).

13 September 2024

Today, Friday 13 September 2024, we were instructed to report to the gate at 07.00. This was the day of the rehearsal of the show and is also the day that most of the Greek hardware arrives. Before 8am we were already in the spotters area/on the grandstand. And… the taxiway was indeed free from any obstruction. The first flight movements did not take long. In the morning, the Hellenic Army arrived with a handful of helicopters and did their demonstrations. The Hellenic Navy also participated with their S70/SH60s. In the afternoon, the Hellenic Air Force got going with their demonstrations as well as the planes for the static. No less than 3 F-4s flew and taxied past, a few new M346s flew around, etcetera. A role-demo of an air combat between an F-16 and a Rafale was nice to see. Also nice to see was the French Rafale duo ‘Requin Mike’. In stark contrast to Thursday, there was now non-stop activity. At the beginning of the evening the group returned to the hotel, satisfied with the results.

14 September 2024

Saturday 14 September 2024 was the first day of the show. The flying program starts around noon and continues until sunset. In order to be able to photograph some of the static we were already at the base quite early. Most aircraft can still be photographed without too many spectators or even without fences. Then there was plenty of time to score souvenirs. During AFW almost all Greek squadrons have their own marquee with merchandise. Especially the Phantom boys of 338 MΔΒ were very busy. During the course of the morning it became quite busy with spectators, but fortunately we had our spots on/next to/in front of the spotter grandstand. The flying program was of course largely the same as the dress rehearsal. The beautiful sunny day and a great score of Greek and other aircraft were celebrated in the evening with a good grill meal and the necessary drinks.

15 September 2024

16 September 2024

Today, Monday 16 September was the departure day for most of the participating aircraft. Again we were requested to report at the gate at 7:00. Then the spotters were brought in a column to runway head 28 and positioned at the contact car. Soon the first departing aircraft taxied to the runway head and went into take-off. The platforms were gradually emptied. In between there were a few Hercules to be seen from the Saudis as support for the Saudi Hawks and the Typhoon demo. Around 14:00 an Italian F-35 was the last departing participant. After this we were kindly requested to leave the base. The rest of the afternoon was free. In the evening the group ate and drank for the last night in one of the local restaurants on the waterfront

17 September 2024

The day of the return journey, Tuesday 17 September 2024, went smoothly. With few delays we drove to the airport of Athens despite the heavy traffic. Here we said goodbye to the 3 participants who were travelling home on their own. Checking in and dropping off the luggage went smoothly, as did the security check. A KLM 737 brought us back to Schiphol. At the baggage belt we said goodbye and everyone went back home. See you soon!

All in all another successful week. Actually, the Athens Flying Week is the only opportunity to see and photograph a relatively large amount of the diversity of the Hellenic armed forces. And what’s more, the atmosphere at AFW is always very relaxed.

Greece V 2024

Greece V 2024

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Greece V 2024

Greece V 2024

Greece V 2024

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