A widespread radio communications failure that disrupted flights across Greece earlier this month was caused by outdated systems rather than external interference, according to findings released to local news outlets Tuesday by the Infrastructure and Transport Ministry. The Jan. 4 incident led to a partial shutdown of Greek airspace for several hours when air traffic controllers lost the ability to communicate with aircraft on multiple frequencies.
Findings From Technical Probe
A committee of experts convened by the ministry found “no indications of cyber attack or external malicious interference,” the ministry said, according to local reporting. Instead, investigators concluded that the civil aviation authority’s voice communication and supporting telecommunications systems rely on aging technology that is no longer supported by the manufacturer and cannot provide “effective guarantees for its operation.”
The report attributed the disruption to “digital noise” caused by a loss of synchronization within the system, which led to failures at the Athens and Macedonia regional control centers. As a result, a critical number of radio beacons malfunctioned, interrupting key telecommunications links. The system was restored shortly before 5 p.m. local time after being restarted, the ministry said.
In parallel with the technical review, the Athens Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered an urgent preliminary investigation into the incident as well. According to Greek media outlet Protothema, Prosecutor Aristides Koreas directed the Cyber Crime Unit to examine whether the offense of dangerous interference with aircraft transportation may have been committed and to independently determine the source of the frequency disruptions.
Safety Assessment and Next Steps
Authorities said flight safety was not compromised during the outage. According to the Infrastructure and Transport Ministry, the incident was assessed as low risk, and aircraft already airborne continued to operate normally while departures were halted.
“No issue of aviation security, in the sense of aircraft being exposed to direct or indirect threat, was noted,” the ministry said.
The report recommends an accelerated transition to Voice over IP communications, including the procurement of a new voice and radio communication system and nearly 500 new transceivers. It also calls for the creation of a coordinated rapid-response mechanism between the civil aviation authority and telecommunications providers to reduce the risk of future disruptions.