New FIR Glitch at Athens Part of Decades-Old Problem

Athens’ main international airport, Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, experienced a serious technical issue affecting flight frequencies, disrupting schedules and raising concerns for passengers.

Olga Toki, vice president of Greece’s Air Traffic Controllers Association, described the problem as part of a decades-long pattern of technical vulnerabilities. Speaking to MEGA, she warned that the situation is not minor: “Until all these long-standing issues are addressed, it will take time. This is exactly what we are facing now.”

The disruption involved a partial failure of the radar data transmission system, which affected the approach control for Athens flights. Similar incidents, including a previous blackout last month, have underscored the fragility of the country’s air navigation systems.

Toki added that future disruptions cannot be ruled out due to the aging and unpredictable nature of the equipment: “No one can guarantee it won’t happen again. The state of the machinery is such that you never know what you’ll encounter the next day.”