FILE PHOTO: A Qatar Airways aircraft takes off at the aircraft builder's headquarters of Airbus in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, September 27, 2019. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek airline Sky Express said on Thursday it had signed an agreement with Qatar Airways to cooperate on flights connecting Doha with the Greek islands, in a boost to the country’s key tourism industry.

Tourism accounts for about a quarter of economic output in Greece, which saw a record number of about 33 million visitors last year.

The privately owned carrier, which competes with Aegean Airlines' AGNr.AT subsidiary Olympic Airways on domestic routes, flies to 24 Greek destinations, including the popular islands of Corfu, Santorini and Crete on ATR42 and ATR72 twin engine turboprop aircraft.

Sky Express said the deal would allow passengers to travel across its network.

Qatar Airways, the country’s flagship airline, has been flying to Athens since 2005. Last year it added flights to Thessaloniki and Mykonos.