Athens Airport. Photo: Amit Cotler Greece is finally breathing a sigh of relief this morning (January 5, 2026) following a day of serious disruption that affected aviation throughout the Mediterranean basin and paralyzed the country's airspace.
The country's airspace reopened in the early hours of the evening after the local malfunction was fixed and flights returned to their routes, including those that made their way to or from Greece and those that passed through Greek skies, including Athens International Airport.
Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: ShutterstockAccording to Athens Airport and the affected airlines, the source of the air traffic control malfunction was radio communications, which prevented takeoffs and landings for many hours, and most flights were diverted to alternative routes, mainly in Turkish skies.
As mentioned this morning, flights to Greek skies and air routes returned to normal after almost 12 hours of air chaos, but the malfunction certainly highlighted the importance of the country as a central hub in the air activity of Europe, the Middle East, and the airways to Asia.