Plane from Olympic Airlines: Ellinikon's Boeing 727 is designed in a new location

Mount Olympus is the English name for Mount Olympus, the highest mountain range in Greece. In Greek mythology, a place called Olympus is also the home of the gods. It's a big name for the Boeing 727 with registration SX-CBA. In 1968 it was delivered to Greek Olympic Airlines.

The plane flew until 1993 and has remained at Athens' Alinikon Airport ever since – even when it closed in 2001. Former Olympic employees from the Polkoa Association took care of the Boeing 727 and other planes parked there. But at the beginning of 2023, the decision was made to transform the former airport into a new area.

Football is played next to a Boeing 727

In the fall of 2023, the Cyprus charter airline and the charter airline Zela Aviation purchased a Boeing 727 and a BAC 1-11, which was also at Ellinikon. When the planned transfer of BAC 1-11 to Cyprus turned out to be too complicated, it was moved to the coastal town of Lavrio, about 40 kilometers southeast of Athens, restored and put on public display there.

And now the Boeing 727 has also found a new home. However, Zela Aviation only moved the plane about a kilometer to Vouliagmenis Street, the large street from which access to the former airport and future new area curves. The plane, now 55 years old, is parked there next to a small soccer field.

The restoration process continues

The transfer took place in March. “As of April 2024, maintenance work on the Boeing 727 will continue and will be fully completed in the coming months,” Zilla Airlines said. There will be an official event with government representatives in May.

Zela Aviation owner Andreas Christodoulides is a fan of former Olympic Airlines owner and famous shipowner Aristotle Onassis. Christodoulides says that through the project he wants to make sure that “the world remembers Ellinikon, the former main airport of Athens, Olympic and Onassis.”

In the photo gallery above you can see photos of the Boeing 727 – clicking on the image opens the gallery in large format. The video below shows BAC 1-11 in Lavrio: