News|AviationGreek flights restart after radio loss grinds airport operations to haltAir traffic was disrupted and there was no way to communicate with aircraft over the airspace, authorities said.

Temporary Suspension of Flights in Greece Due to Technical Issue

On Sun, Jan 4, 2026, Greek airports faced a temporary suspension of flights after an unexpected interference affected airspace radio frequencies. The disruption began shortly before 9am local time (07:00 GMT), impacting communication channels and prompting the precautionary shutdown of Greek airspace.

The civil aviation authority in Greece reported that an indeterminate "noise" affected the radio frequencies, resulting in a complete communication breakdown with aircraft. The interference was described as continuous and involuntary. Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, indicated that outdated infrastructure contributed to the issue.

Initially, only flyovers were serviced, but by Sunday afternoon, limited services were restored using backup frequencies. Full air traffic operations resumed progressively. Christos Dimas, Greece’s infrastructure and transport minister, assured that flight safety was not compromised during the incident.

Approximately 45 flights were scheduled to depart Greek airports every hour by late afternoon. In the first 11 months of 2025, Athens airport handled 31.6 million passengers. The air traffic controllers’ association described the scale of the incident as "unprecedented and unacceptable."

Based on reporting by Al Jazeera.