Sigma Live

No Safety Concerns for Flights Due to Athens FIR Blackout

Published January 5, 2026, 10:14
No Safety Concerns for Flights Due to Athens FIR Blackout

No problems were caused to flight safety due to the prolonged blackout on almost all radio frequencies of the Athens FIR yesterday, said the President of the Mediterranean Flight Safety Foundation (FSF-MED), Chrysanthos Chrysanthou. Information suggests the problem was due to equipment upgrades. The Cypriot authorities were able to manage all flights avoiding Greek airspace, either from Turkey or from the south. The number of flights passing through Cypriot airspace increased significantly. Mr. Chrysanthou stated that the problem was possibly due to unmodernized systems, but did not affect flight safety. There was also an issue with the transfer of data from Greek airspace to other airspaces. There is no evidence of external interference. Mr. Chrysanthou stressed that the problem should have been solved by the political authorities without delay. No additional measures were taken in Cyprus, beyond managing the increased flights.