The failure, attributed by controllers' representatives to the age of the equipment, caused the loss of all frequencies and paralyzed the airspace.

Huge chaos gripped the skies in Greece on Sunday, January 4th. An "unprecedented" technical problem prevented planes from landing and taking off at the country's airports for at least two hours that morning, causing flight delays and postponements. The Civil Aviation Authority stated in a press release that it was working with the relevant authorities to restore service, specifying that the technical issue occurred around 9:00 AM local time.

At Eleftherios Venizelos, Athens' main airport, "no planes have landed or taken off since at least 10:00 AM local time," according to the airport's press office. "Greek civil aviation is working to correct the problem that has occurred at all airports in the country," the source added. By mid-morning, there were virtually no aircraft flying over Greece, Le Figaro observed on FlightRadar24. Many flights that were only supposed to fly over Greece also appeared to be circling over the Mediterranean in the morning before being redirected elsewhere, notably via Turkey.

"All frequencies have been lost."

According to civil aviation authorities, air traffic began to gradually resume around 1 p.m. local time. Only 35 flights per hour are currently operating across all 39 airports in the country, a significantly lower number compared to regular traffic during this end-of-year holiday period.

Panagiotis Psarros, president of the Greek Air Traffic Controllers' Union, told ERT that around 9 a.m., "all frequencies were lost" in Greek airspace, but that by early afternoon "some frequencies" were operating "safely" and traffic could resume. He described the problem as "very serious" and lamented the "outdated equipment" at airports. He recalled that a similar incident had occurred last year, disrupting traffic at Athens airport.