Why Greece ranked among Europe's worst for flight delays, according to air traffic controllers - ProtoThema English
Today’s broad-based meeting with the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), the Hellenic Air Navigation Services (HANS), air traffic controllers, the management “Eleftherios Venizelos” Airport management, and airlines—Solutions are being sought for capacity and air traffic management; what do Eurocontrol’s data show?
A broad meeting is being held todayinvolving the Greek Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), air traffic controllers, Athens International Airport (“Eleftherios Venizelos”), and the country’s two main airlines,AEGEANandSKY express, to address growing flight delays. Officials are looking for solutions to improve airspace capacity and air traffic management, based on data fromEurocontrol. For another year, Greece is experiencing a familiar summer problem, with passengers facing significant delays. The country now ranks among thetop three in Europefor flight delays. According to Eurocontrol, during thelast week of June, Greece accounted for13% of all flight delays across Europe. Of those:9%were attributed to theAthens Area Control Centre. 4%were linked to theMacedonia Area Control Centre. The main causes arecapacity constraintsandstaffing shortages, while an additional, though smaller, factor is the increase in aircraft passing through Greek airspace because of the conflict in the Middle East. As a result,en-route delays in Greece have increased by 63% compared with the same period in 2025. Together withFranceandSpain, Greece is among the three European countries responsible for the largest share of delays. However, Greece has recorded thesteepest deteriorationcompared with last year. France remains the worst-performing country, accounting for29% of all European flight delays, mainly due to capacity problems, staffing shortages, and the transition to new technical systems. Even so, French delays are38% lowerthan last year. Spain follows with21%of total delays, driven by heavy traffic, staffing issues, and capacity limitations. Delays there have increased by26%compared with last year. Across Europe,71% of flights arrived on time, down0. 5 percentage pointsfrom last year, while64% of departures were on time, a slight improvement of0. 2 percentage pointsover 2025. Athens International AirportOfficials note that during the summer,Athens International Airporthandles approximately:900 commercial flightsper day, andaround100 additional flights, including private aircraft, cargo flights, and other operations. Roughly80% of delays, particularly during peak hours, are caused byair traffic restrictions. These delays create a domino effect across both domestic and international flight networks and also affect aircraft and crew availability, since crews are subject to strict mandatory rest periods. New Capacity Management MeasuresTo improve traffic management, Athens Airport has this year been classified as aSchedule Facilitated Airport (IATA Level 2). In practice, this means the national slot coordinator works closely with airlines to align flight schedules with the airport’s hourly capacity. According to officials, this coordination has ensured that98% of flights scheduled for summer 2026 fall within the agreed capacity limits, avoiding unexpected scheduling conflicts. Under a Joint Ministerial Decision issued on10 June, Athens Airport’s minimum operating capacity during the summer is:35 departures and 31 arrivals per hourduring peak periods,35 departures and 28 arrivals per hourduring off-peak periods,22 departures and 22 arrivals per hourovernight. Today’s meeting aims to determine why delays remain so severe despite these measures. Current data indicate that these minimum service levels are achievedless than 50% of the time. Several factors contribute, but the main issues involve operational planning and air traffic management. Eurocontrol ranks Greece as having thethird-worst performance in Europefor capacity and staffing among air navigation service providers during the last week of June. Although there have also been delays in upgrading equipment and recruiting new personnel, officials stress that the existing systems remain adequate and safe for managing air traffic. What Air Traffic Controllers SayOlga Toki, Vice President of the Greek Air Traffic Controllers’ Association, toldProtothema:“The problem is that demand at the airport is currently much higher than the agreed capacity limits, including those set out in the ministerial decision, and slot allocations are not being respected. ”She gave Monday,6 July, as an example:991 flightsare scheduled for the day. During the7:00–8:00 a. m. peak hour, the agreement allows35 departures, yet40 departuresare scheduled. Between9:00–10:00 a. m. ,35 arrivalsare planned, exceeding the agreed limit of31 arrivals. Between10:00–11:00 a. m. , there are39 departures. Between12:00–1:00 p. m. , another35 arrivalsare scheduled. “These flights will inevitably be delayed, and those delays will cascade throughout the day,” she said. “If the airport starts the morning overloaded, the problem only gets worse. ”The controllers will propose at today’s meeting thatAthens Airport be upgraded to IATA Level 3, where slot allocations are strictly controlled and cannot exceed airport capacity. Controllers also point to the increased pressure caused by the conflict in the Middle East, which has resulted in more aircraft crossing Greek airspace. “We’re also seeing increased traffic at the Athens and Macedonia Area Control Centre,” Toki said. “Last year the peak was around4,500 flightsper day. This past weekend it was close to5,000. New controllers have been hired, but they have not yet completed their training, so we cannot open additional control sectors. ”Ask me anythingExplore related questions