SkyGreece passengers stranded as airline cancels flights

SkyGreece Airlines flights to and from Toronto on Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled "due to operational reasons," a week after a flight out of Pearson Airport was delayed for four days.

The fledgling airline's Twitter and Facebook accounts have also been taken down, sparking rumours that it was ceasing operations entirely.

A recorded message from the airline said that its Wednesday Athens-Zagreb-Toronto flight has been cancelled, as have two flights between Toronto and Greece via Budapest.

'They're frustrated'

Dianne Kiparisas, a travel agent with Skyway Tours on Danforth Avenue, told CBC she's been taking calls from SkyGreece passengers stranded in Greece and desperate to return to Toronto.

"They're frustrated, they're elderly, there are people with kids, there are people who have to come back for work and there's no way of coming back," Kiparisis said. \

Aris Sideratos, the owner of Skyway Tours, said he doesn't know what to tell the passengers stuck in Greece.

"We are waiting to hear any announcement the airline is going to make in order to direct our customers on what to do," Sideratos said.

Passengers affected by the delays can contact the Travel Industry Council of Ontario to get a refund, but only if SkyGreece goes bankrupt, he said.

4-day delay last week

The cancellations come a week after a SkyGreece flight that was scheduled to depart Pearson International Airport on a Monday finally left the following Thursday afternoon.

In a statement issued when the flight was first delayed, the airline said that "due to operational considerations, SkyGreece Airlines needs to delay all flights." Hundreds of passengers were affected by the delays.

Abid Aziz, a duty officer with SkyGreece, told CBC News last week that SkyGreece only began flying out of Toronto on May 22. He added that the problems they encountered were part of the growing pains the company was experiencing.

On its site, SkyGreece, which has only one plane, says it was founded in 2012 and started its operations in 2014.