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EurActiv (13 January 2026)

Sarantis Michalopoulos

The episode has reignited domestic criticism of the government’s transport record, reviving memories of the deadly 2023 Tempi train crash.

Greece’s ageing airspace radar and communications systems urgently need upgrading, an EU official said on Monday after an incident earlier this month saw the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) go offline for several hours, causing major air traffic disruption.

The failure, which occurred on 4 January, knocked out radio communications used for air traffic control in FIR, the zone responsible for managing aircraft entering Greek airspace. With pilots unable to establish contact with local authorities, the outage led to cancelled flights, widespread delays, lost baggage and confusion over aircraft already airborne.

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