Since the beginning of the war, several European transport companies have been offering free transport, including rail, bus, ferry, and air travel. A list of the carriers involved is available here.
As far as Greece is concerned, from May 18th, transportation to Athens and Thessaloniki is free of charge for 90 days with the following procedures:
Athens:
The OASA Group from the 18th of May 2022, announced that war refugees from Ukraine residing in the Region of Attica, acquire the right of full exemption from the payment of a fare in public transport under the responsibility of the Group with a validity of 90 days.
Beneficiaries can issue personalized ATH.ENA card electronic mobility cards from the OASA Group ticket offices that have a special device for issuing personalized cards.
In order to to get the right to a free fare you will need:
- TaxisNet codes for accreditation /entry into the application
- the personalized ATH.ENA card
- the 8-digit Pin code of ATH.ENA card
If you have not purchased a personalized card, you must do so beforehand, otherwise you will not be able to continue the procedure.
The 8-digit Pin code won’t be saved, but will simply only be used to verify your card.
After entering the app with your TaxisNet credentials, the free fare request process is summarized in the following 4 simple steps:
- register your card
- verify your card
- choose the free fare category you apply for from the available ones: Unemployed OAED or Unemployed GEN or Disabled or Refugees from Ukraine
- activate the free fare by stating your consent
Regarding minors up to 6 years old transportation is free of charge. For children from 7 years old you can also issue a card in the same way as yours. The ‘issuance/possession of a VAT number’ has nothing to do with it.
Thessaloniki: OASTH provides free quarterly travel passes for travel for Ukrainian war refugees, for transportation by bus.
A stand was installed at Pavilion 2 at the TIF (Thessaloniki International Fair), where basic necessities are collected and then applications for the granting of the cards are made available to the displaced Ukrainian refugees, as well as their issue.
In order to submit the application and then receive the card, Ukrainian refugees must have with them the Temporary Protection Residence Permit or, alternatively, the passport with which they entered Greece after 24 February.
From June 1st, the relevant procedure will take place at the offices of OASTH, at 90 Alexandrou Papanastasiou Street, on the ground floor.
In addition, OASTH gives the opportunity for the electronic submission of the application, at the address cards.oasth.gr.
As a supporting document you will need to have with you your Temporary Protection Residence Permit or, alternatively, the passport with which you entered Greece after February 24th of 2022.