Major disruption at Greek airports caused by outdated communication systems
Illustrative photo: passengers waiting for their flight at an airport (Getty Images)
A radio communications outage lasting eight hours at Greek airports last week was partly caused by outdated communications systems, according to Reuters.
According to the findings of a government investigative commission, the problems were caused by synchronization discrepancies in equipment and a breakdown in communications between airport control towers and aircraft.
Greece’s Ministry of Transport said the systems formally meet EU standards, but a modernization plan has already been launched and is expected to be completed by 2028.
Aviation unions, which have for years warned about the need to upgrade equipment, called the report a “full confirmation” of their long-standing safety concerns amid a tourism boom.
The report stresses that the country’s key telecommunications infrastructure requires modernization and notes that Greek telecom provider OTE has been warning about the need for upgrades since 2019.
Following the incident, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority, Georgios Saounatsos, resigned. Experts described the outage as unprecedented for a southern European country.
What happened in Greece
As previously reported, on January 4 air traffic controllers lost contact with most aircraft, including dozens of flights bound for Greek airports.
Preliminary reports pointed to a failure of radio frequencies at the air traffic control center near Athens. This center plays a key role in communications with pilots of all aircraft entering Greek airspace.
In response to the incident, authorities temporarily suspended departures from Greek airports and focused on the safe landing of aircraft already in the air.
GPS disruptions in Europe
Earlier reports also noted GPS signal disruptions in northern Europe, which preliminary assessments linked to Russia’s use of electronic warfare facilities in the Kaliningrad region.
Significant GPS jamming was later recorded in northern and eastern Poland, including Warsaw and areas south toward the city of Łódź.
Authorities in Estonia have officially stated that Russia is responsible for GPS disruptions in the Baltic Sea region, reinforcing concerns among neighboring countries about the security of navigation systems.
