Athens Airport. Photo: Amit Cotler Happening again: a serious glitch in Greece's air traffic control systems. Less than two months after the glitch that paralyzed flights to and from Greece, communication was cut off from two of the three radars serving the country's largest airport this morning (February 19, 2026).
The airport operated with a single radar and no backup frequencies for a long time, after data transmission to and from the inspection site was interrupted.
As you may recall, on January 4, 2026, a complete communications outage was reported at the airport. The recurring glitch raises serious questions about the airport's readiness for the busy summer tourist season in Greece and the safety of flights to the capital, Athens.
The expert report, published after the conclusion of the investigation committee established following the incident in January, stated that the source of the malfunction was "digital noise" caused by modernization processes across multiple, interconnected communication systems. This combination led to the unintentional activation and continuous transmission of a large number of transmitters and the suspension of essential communication connections.
Air traffic controllers at Athens Airport warn in a statement issued by the Greek Air Traffic Controllers that "the situation exceeds reasonable limits and that in the absence of real steps to renew equipment and improve the reliability of systems, measures will be taken to maintain flight safety, including reducing capacity," a step that could severely harm tourism.