Tension at Dedeağaç Airport: Farmers tried to meet Mitsotakis, who left through a side exit
Western Thrace
Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:36 GMT
Farmers had gathered outside the airport with their tractors since Monday evening to protest government agricultural policies and demand direct talks with the Prime Minister.
Tension briefly flared at “Dimokritos” Airport in Dedeğaç on Tuesday morning (November 11), when farmers clashed with police forces as they attempted to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ahead of his visit to the Rhodope region.
Farmers had gathered outside the airport with their tractors since Monday evening to protest government agricultural policies and demand direct talks with the Prime Minister.
When Mitsotakis’ plane landed around 10:00 a.m., protesters requested a meeting, but for security reasons, the Prime Minister’s motorcade exited through a side gate, heading toward Komotini via the Apalos area.
The situation de-escalated without major incidents.
Farmers’ Key Demands:
- Compensation for damages from the 2023 wildfires, still unpaid
- Delays in OPEKEPE agricultural subsidy payments due to technical issues
- Feed and irrigation problems linked to poor water management with Bulgaria
- Insufficient measures against foot-and-mouth disease and other livestock illnesses
- Farmers and livestock breeders announced plans to organize a large-scale protest in Athens in the coming days.
- During his regional tour, Prime Minister Mitsotakis is scheduled to visit Maronia, the DESFA Natural Gas Compression Station and Interplast facilities in Komotini’s Industrial Zone, followed by stops at the Music High School, Karatheodori Museum, and the construction site of the new Komotini General Hospital.
Sources: evros-news.gr, evros24.gr
