In 2020, 5,200 people tried to travel by plane from Greece to other EU countries without valid documents, according to German and Greek police. This reflects a small decrease compared with the 5,800 apprehended the previous year, the German news agency KNA reports.

According to the newspaper Berliner Morgenpost, German federal police said most of the migrants were using fake IDs or passports that belonged to other people. A further 2,300 people wanted to fly to other EU countries such as Belgium, France or Austria, they said.

Police attributed the overall decrease to restrictions on air travel during the coronavirus pandemic. However they announced plans to boost the police presence at Greek airports. There are currently eight police officers stationed in Athens and Thessaloniki, with more to be deployed in Rhodes and Crete during 2021, Berliner Morgenpost reported.

Increase in entry attempts from Greece via air

A German federal police report says smuggling from Greece "remains particularly significant." The 2019 annual report of the EU border agency Frontex stated that security forces had detected a "noticeable increase" in attempted entries with fake IDs from Greece to other EU countries via air, according to Morgenpost. 

In addition to EU internal border controls, 84 German police officers are deployed in Greece, under the direction of Frontex, to secure the EU's external border, mainly on islands in the Aegean Sea, but also on the land border with Turkey.

At the end of 2020, UN figures showed that there were around 120,000 refugees and migrants in Greece. Thousands continue to live in tent camps on the Aegean islands, without adequate heating or access to toilets and showers. They include babies and children.

With KNA