Khaberni - Flight movement across Greece was halted for several hours today, Sunday, due to a wireless frequency malfunction that paralyzed the air communication system, stranding thousands of travelers and halting airport operations.
The causes of the disruption, which started at dawn on Sunday and quickly escalated, are still unclear, casting a shadow over the travels of thousands before the busy weekend begins.
The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority stated that some flights flying in the Greek airspace and in the region are still operational, but restrictions have been imposed on airport operations for safety reasons.
By noon today, the authorities confirmed that some services were partially restored after pilots resorted to using backup frequencies to communicate with ground air traffic control units.
Panayotis Psaros, president of the Hellenic Association of Air Traffic Controllers, told the Greek public radio and television station (ERT): "For some reason, all frequencies suddenly cut off.. We were unable to communicate with the aircraft in the air."
The association assured that controllers are using all available means to ensure safe flight operations, and described the magnitude of today's malfunction as "unprecedented and unacceptable" for the air traffic control system.
Psaros said that the problem appears to be due to a malfunction in the central wireless frequencies systems in the air control regions of Athens and Macedonia, which are the largest air traffic monitoring centers in the country and oversee the Athens flight information region, a vast airspace area.
A Greek official reported that the authorities managed to increase the number of departing flights from Greek airports to 45 flights per hour, later in the afternoon.
