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Head of Greek Civil Aviation Authority Resigns After Blackout Investigation

Published January 14, 2026, 12:17
Head of Greek Civil Aviation Authority Resigns After Blackout Investigation

Following the report on the blackout at the Athens FIR, the Head of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA), Giorgos Saounatsos, submitted his resignation to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Dimas, which was accepted. Giorgos Vagenas, Deputy Head of Air Navigation, will temporarily assume the duties of Head, while procedures for the appointment of a new Head will follow. The report concluded that the cause of the chaos in Greek airports was a complex web of technical failures, outdated telecommunications infrastructure and inadequate operational coordination. The possibility of a cyberattack or external intervention was ruled out, and it was found that the problem was due to an internal technical malfunction of critical HCAA communication systems, specifically “digital noise” due to desynchronization of outdated systems. The Committee points out that the HCAA's existing communication system is based on outdated technology (SDH) that is no longer supported, with no guarantees of operation. It proposes accelerating the transition to VoIP (Voice over IP) technology and upgrading infrastructure. The incident was classified as low risk (Green Area) and there was no issue of air safety.