Greece prepares fees for reckless mountain rescues

Greece is preparing to change the rules for mountain rescue. According to To Vima on 12 February 2026, people who undertake reckless and dangerous mountaineering or climbing and then call the Fire Service and other agencies may have to cover the high cost of the operation themselves.

The bill can include helicopter flights — more than 1,500 euros per hour — and the deployment of ground teams, reaching tens of thousands of euros in total. Hundreds of such cases are recorded each year. The approach follows the existing framework for boat operators who leave port despite sailing bans and later pay for Coast Guard mobilisation.

The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, under Ioannis Kefalogiannis, is preparing a joint ministerial decision. The stated aim is to curb poorly equipped outings in bad weather and to reduce deaths. Club representatives say at least 30% of such reckless attempts are by amateurs; during a recent holiday period the Fire Service handled about 50 incidents.

Each year three to six people die on dangerous trails, with at least 20–40 search-and-rescue operations plus many quieter call-outs. On Mount Olympus alone, 70 deaths have been recorded over 75 years, and about 90% of the country’s mountaineering activity — more than 100,000 visitors a year — is concentrated there. Evangelos Misiakos, president of the Hellenic Mountaineering Association of Athens, told To Vima that shifting costs and requiring insurance are necessary steps. A Lakonia rescue-group leader, speaking on ERT, cautioned that a human life cannot be reduced to a bill and that volunteers will keep helping regardless of state decisions.