Athens January 4 2026 (Agencies) – Greece temporarily shut down its entire airspace on Sunday after a major technical failure disabled critical air traffic control communication systems, forcing the suspension of takeoffs and landings at airports nationwide, aviation authorities said.
The disruption affected central radio frequency systems used by air traffic controllers to communicate with pilots, including facilities overseeing Greece’s Flight Information Region. As a safety precaution, authorities halted flight operations after controllers were unable to maintain reliable contact with aircraft, according to officials from the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority.
Major airports, including Athens International Airport and regional hubs across the country, were impacted, with flights either grounded, delayed, or diverted to neighboring countries such as Italy, Turkey and Cyprus. Flight tracking data showed large portions of Greek airspace nearly empty during the outage, leaving thousands of passengers stranded amid widespread disruption.
Officials said flights already in the air were managed under emergency contingency procedures, while most departures and arrivals were suspended until communications could be restored. Authorities did not immediately disclose the cause of the system failure, but stressed that uninterrupted communication between pilots and controllers is essential for flight safety.
Later in the day, Greek aviation officials said efforts were underway to gradually restore operations as technical teams worked to resolve the malfunction. Passengers were advised to check with airlines for updates as investigations into the incident continued.