Greece resumes air traffic following radio equipment failure at major airport

Greek Airspace Disruption Causes Flight Delays

A technical issue affecting aviation radio frequencies led to a disruption in air traffic across Greece, causing flights to be suspended at several airports. The problem occurred just before 9am local time on Sunday, resulting in the loss of communication with aircraft in the airspace.

According to authorities, massive interference impacted most aviation radio frequencies, prompting a precautionary shutdown of Greek airspace. The cause of the disruption was attributed to an indeterminate “noise” that affected radio channels, but the exact nature of this phenomenon remains unclear.

Air traffic controllers reported that all frequencies were suddenly lost, making it impossible to communicate with aircraft in the sky. However, backup frequencies allowed for limited services to be restored by Sunday afternoon.

The incident did not compromise flight safety, according to Christos Dimas, Greece’s infrastructure and transport minister. As of late afternoon, around 45 flights departed from Greek airports every hour. The Athens airport handled over 31.6 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2025.

Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, expressed concerns about the ageing infrastructure, stating that it should have been replaced years ago. The air traffic controllers’ association described the scale of the incident as “unprecedented and unacceptable”.

Source: Al Jazeera