Flights across Greek airspace have resumed after a major disruption Sunday that grounded, diverted or delayed air travel nationwide, authorities said. The shutdown began at 8:59 a.m. local time after most aviation radio frequencies were overwhelmed by what Greece’s civil aviation authority described as indeterminate “noise,” prompting a precautionary halt to operations and leaving thousands of travelers stranded at airports.
Greece’s civil aviation authority said the noise took the form of “continuous, involuntary emission,” disrupting radio channels and limiting controllers’ ability to communicate with aircraft. Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, told reporters there was no way to communicate with aircraft and said the incident underscored the vulnerability of aging systems.
“For some reason all frequencies were suddenly lost,” Psarros said. “We could not communicate with aircraft in the sky.”
By Sunday afternoon, limited services returned through backup frequencies, with about 45 departures per hour in Greek airspace by late afternoon, Reuters reported.
On Monday, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Christos Dimas said the failure is unlikely to have been caused by a cyberattack, though the cause remains under investigation, according to The Associated Press.
“It does not appear to be a cyberattack,” Dimas told public broadcaster ERT, adding that safety was not compromised.
A judicial inquiry and an internal investigation into the radio interference in Greek airspace were launched Monday.
