Just a month and a half since a significant blackout of the Athens FIR (Flight Information Region) and warnings from air traffic controllers about the potential for similar occurrences, communication was lost again early Thursday. The communication issues affected the radar and frequencies at the Menenda Hill, leading to operational challenges. Specifically, only the main frequencies were functioning while the backup systems were offline, and of the three radars, only one was operational, resulting in significant capacity reductions in air traffic management.

Olga Toki, an air traffic controller and vice president of their union, indicated that this disruption led to a 25% decrease in airspace capacity. The operational limit for arrivals was reduced from 22 to 17 per hour, causing noticeable delays in flight arrivals. The communication failures stem from longstanding issues in the system, as one radar at Menenda has been non-functional for a period, coupled with the enduring dysfunction of the radar at Hellinikon, which has been out of service for years.

This situation has raised serious concerns among air traffic controllers regarding the potential for continued disruptions in the busy summer travel season. As they prepare for increased air traffic during this peak period, the inability to resolve these communication issues could have significant implications for air travel safety and efficiency in Greece, prompting urgent calls for improvements in the air traffic management infrastructure to prevent future losses of communication and operational consistency.