Shell flies to Corfu as Greece debates energy future

Shell flew from Farnborough Airport to Corfu on June 2 in a Dassault Falcon 7X, touching down at Ioannis Kapodistrias International Airport after a 2-hour 38-minute flight. The corporate aviation arm’s Cayman-registered VQ-BXH made the trip from the company’s UK operational hub.

The same week, Greece’s Hellenic Hydrocarbons Management Company launched its second offshore licensing round for the Ionian Sea and south of Crete, per an official announcement on June 1. Shell, along with ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies, has prequalified to bid on the blocks — a potential entry point into the eastern Mediterranean’s nascent gas province. Corfu, as the largest Ionian island, serves as a staging area for seismic surveys and logistics in the region.

The flight follows a pattern of Shell’s Falcon 7X visiting energy hubs: in the preceding days the aircraft shuttled between Farnborough, Rotterdam, and Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan — another region where Shell holds major gas interests. A working visit to Corfu, whether for pre-bid meetings or operational reconnaissance, fits the company’s disciplined corporate travel tempo.