Greece Airspace Closure Strands Thousands After Communications Failure

Greece Airspace Closure Strands Thousands After Communications Failure
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Thousands of passengers were left stranded across Europe after a communications failure forced Greece to shut its airspace, triggering widespread flight cancellations and delays, as reported by the BBC. The disruption began on Sunday morning when air traffic authorities lost radio contact with aircraft.

Officials temporarily suspended all arrivals and departures while investigating the cause of the failure. Some outbound flights were later allowed to resume under restrictions, but inbound flights continued to be diverted or sent back to their points of origin, causing severe congestion at major airports.

Athens International Airport was among the worst affected, with more than 90 flights disrupted, while Thessaloniki airport was fully closed. Flights from several European cities were cancelled or forced to return mid-journey, and delays were reported at other Greek airports, including Heraklion in Crete.

The disruption came during a peak travel period as holidaymakers returned home, raising concerns about passengers missing work commitments. Many travellers complained of a lack of clear information, saying departure boards were unreliable and airline staff could not confirm when services would resume.

Greek air traffic officials said the outage was linked to a failure in the radio system used to communicate with aircraft. Initial findings suggested a possible antenna malfunction near Athens. Authorities said investigations were ongoing as operations gradually resumed, though continued delays were expected.