In a major development that has disrupted international air traffic, flight operations were halted at airports across Greece on Sunday in light of a technical issue.
According to the Greek state TV and the country’s aviation authority, flights travelling to destinations in Greece have been suspended nationwide in light of an issue with the disruption of radio wave frequency at the airports in Greece.
Authorities said the cause of the disruption was under investigation. Greece’s civil aviation authority said some overflights through the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) were continuing, but restrictions had been imposed on airport operations as a safety measure, according to a Reuters report.
What does Flight tracking data show?
Data from FlightRadar24 showed that the airspace over Greece had been almost completely emptied after Greece’s civil aviation authority’s communication to other international airports.
State broadcaster for Greece, ERT earlier today reported that arrivals and departures at airports across Greece were suspended from 9:00 a.m. local time (12.30 pm IST).
Following the state broadcasters report, social media platforms like X have been flooded with visuals of stranded travellers across Greece airports by Greek media websites and travellers. As a safety precaution all flights scheduled to arrive in Greece today have been diverted to neighboring countries.
Where will the diverted flights land
According to airline alerts and airport statements cited by European media, flights bound for Greece were diverted to Italy, Cyprus, Turkey, Austria and Israel. Some long-haul services were forced to return to origin airports.
In Israel, an Airports Authority spokesperson said Greek airspace would remain closed until 4:00 p.m. local time, warning passengers to expect delays to both arrivals and departures.
“Security Check-In Closed Since 9 AM! Due to the ongoing radio frequency failure in Greek airspace (started early January 4, 2026), NO takeoffs possible nationwide. Security check-in & departures halted at Athens International since ~9 AM,” Greek City Times posted on X.
“Massive queues building up, passengers stranded. Arrivals landing manually where possible, but many diversions/delays All Greek airports affected – FIR Athens effectively closed. Civil Aviation Authority rushing fixes, but no ETA yet. Airlines issuing alerts – expect huge delays/cancellations today,” it added.
A nationwide shutdown of air traffic in Greece has regional ripple effects on the larger international aviation system as Greece sits between the route from Africa to Europe and disruptions force airlines to burn more fuel, miss slots, and cancel rotations. As a result of the delay today, hundreds were stranded at Greek airports, with visuals of long queues and packed terminals circulating on social media.