Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is launching direct flights from the UAE capital to Santorini from July 2. Unsplash
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is launching direct flights from the UAE capital to Santorini from July 2. Unsplash
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is launching direct flights from the UAE capital to Santorini from July 2. Unsplash
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is launching direct flights from the UAE capital to Santorini from July 2. Unsplash

Wizz Air launches cheap flights from Abu Dhabi to Santorini with fares from Dh399


Hayley Skirka
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Travellers in Abu Dhabi looking to escape to the Greek islands this summer now have a low-cost option to fly direct to Santorini.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the newest airline in the UAE, is launching two flights per week from the UAE capital to one of Greece's holiday hot spots.

Vaccinated travellers from the UAE can jet off to Santorini with no quarantine on either end of the trip, as the UAE and Greece have established a vaccine corridor.

From July 2, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will fly twice a week from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Santorini, with a travel time of less than five hours.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has launched direct flights from the UAE capital to the Greek isle of Santorini. Courtesy Wizz Air
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has launched direct flights from the UAE capital to the Greek isle of Santorini. Courtesy Wizz Air

Flights depart the UAE capital on Mondays and Fridays, and the budget airline is selling tickets one way from Dh399, including taxes, but excluding check-in baggage or carry-on trolleys, which can be added for a fee.

"With its iconic whitewashed villages and charming blue domed roofs, it's no surprise that Santorini is an ever-popular destination for travellers the world over. And now, with the UAE and Greece having agreed to a travel corridor, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is delivering safe, efficient, hassle-free and ultra-low-fare travel options for UAE residents looking for a Hellenistic holiday," said Kees van Schaick, managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

Santorini is one of the best spots in Greece to see the sunset. Unsplash
Santorini is one of the best spots in Greece to see the sunset. Unsplash

The new launch is Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's third destination in Greece, but its first route to the Greek islands. The budget airline already operates two other flights per week to the country from the UAE, flying to Athens and Thessaloniki.

Low-cost airline flydubai also announced this week that it would begin flying direct to Santorini from Dubai.

Travellers flying to Greece must fill in a Passenger Locator Form at least 24 hours before entering the country. Tourists can either show proof of vaccination or the results of a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arriving. The second dose of the vaccination must have been issued at least 14 days before landing in Santorini. Children under the age of 5 do not need to be tested.

Passengers flying back to the UAE need to have a PCR test no more than 72 hours before flying.

All returning travellers must also take another PCR test on arrival, and then follow the most up-to-date testing requirements for the emirate. Children 12 years of age and younger are exempt from testing.

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

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