SKY express is now travelling through time.

The Greek company that changes the landscape in the country's aviation supports the initiative of the Association "Charhalis" for the revival and preservation of a special and historic piece of our national tradition, Cretan music that for a century resonates throughout Crete.

The specific action entitled "Keeping traditional music of Crete up" is under the auspices of the Com-mission Greece 2021 as part of the National Program of Actions and festive events.

Sky Express’s active participation in this process comes as a natural continuation of its philosophy. On the one hand, it honors its origin, contributing substantially to the preservation of the valuable for Crete and the whole of Greece alike folklore legacy that the Association has created all these years. On the other hand, the move is an extension of the company's commitment to always keeping alive the connection between cities, villages and islands, people, customs, and traditions.

The sponsorship includes the supply of the necessary equipment for the archiving and digitization of the rich audiovisual material collected by the Association with the aim of protecting and preserving the cultural heritage. In addition, the maintenance and repair of rare musical instruments, but also the cre-ation of modern through projection and the organization of events to highlight the Cretan music tradi-tion in every corner of the globe.

As mentioned by Marketing Manager of SKY express, Despina Katsika: "We fly daily to Greece and the world! Now that the country is celebrating, we are participating in the initiatives for the 200 years since the Revolution, as proud sponsors of the initiative of the historical Association "Charhalis" “Keeping the musical tradition of Crete alive". We support the effort to revive and preserve a special, much-loved, and historical piece of our national tradition. The music of Crete, including the dances, songs, the poet-ry, the melodies are not just part of the history of our homeland, our identity, our culture; they are an international cultural heritage that we must pass on intact to future generations. To travel not only lit-erally but also through the music of our country, now and forever!".

Respectively, Mr. Leonidas Lainakis on behalf of the Cretan Music Association of Chania "CHARCHALIS" said: "SKY express with a sense of responsibility and pride becomes a partner of the Cre-tan music tradition, aiming to carry it to every corner of the globe. the songs, the melodies are an inte-gral part of the Cretan land, and this way of life is transformed in the flights of SKY express, actively contributing to the perpetual preservation of our cultural identity and heritage”.

A musical journey in Cretan melodies and Cretan culture begins with the support of SKY express.

About the Cretan Music Association of Chania “CHARCHALIS"

Founded in 1976, it is one of the oldest traditional music associations in the country. Its purpose is the preservation and dissemination of the Cretan traditional music through the pro bono teaching of tradi-tional music, songs, dances and instruments, the organization of concerts, events, conferences, the publication of books, records, cassettes, cd and video, as well as the collection, recording, archiving, digitization and promotion of the cultural heritage of the place.

More than half a century worth of material has been collected in his archive. It includes the audiovisual content of traditional music and dance from all parts of Crete, but also rare photographs and inter-views by organ makers and musicians, who played a key role in the history and evolution of Cretan mu-sic culture.

This valuable material was collected and saved thanks to the personal effort, passion and care of a small group of people with a vision to nurture the next generations and to be a source of inspiration and attraction of international interest in the Cretan tradition.