Crowds and confusion overwhelmed the port of Ermoupoli late on Easter Monday, shortly after 22:30, with the arrival of the Blue Star Mykonos.
According to reports, 220 passengers from Ikaria, desperate to return to Piraeus but unable to find tickets, booked seats to Syros instead—hoping to secure space on the overbooked ferry.
To deal with the situation, authorities arranged an emergency sailing of the Blue Star Paros, brought in to help handle the passenger surge at Syros. The original vessel, Blue Star Mykonos, was already at capacity with travellers from various island stops, including Ikaria.
In an effort to manage the chaos, passenger headcounts were conducted at the Ermoupoli port before departure. Officials from the port authority reportedly had to play a literal game of hide-and-seek with passengers who were supposed to disembark at Syros but tried to remain onboard to reach Piraeus.
The ferry operator confirmed that while Blue Star Mykonos was running its scheduled route—Thessaloniki, Limnos, Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Ikaria, Mykonos, Syros, Piraeus—roughly 300 tickets were issued from Ikaria to Syros, but at least 220 passengers had no intention of stopping until they reached the mainland.
Also read: High demand for Cyprus-Greece ferry route as bookings open
