Flying to Europe? Major Radar Failure in Greece Is Causing Widespread Delays on Flights to and from Israel

Major delays were recorded today (Sunday) on flights between Israel and a range of destinations in Europe, following a technical malfunction in a radar system in Greece’s airspace. The issue affected many flights crossing Greek airspace on their way to or from Israel, and airlines began preparing for changes to flight routes in an effort to reduce the impact on schedules.

Notices sent to passengers said that "heavy delays" were expected on flights, while assessments indicated that the shift to alternate flight paths would lengthen travel time by about two hours for each flight affected by the disruptions. At the same time, passengers reported long waits at airports and on planes, sometimes without clear information about when takeoff would happen.

According to reports from Greece, the source of the disruptions was a technical malfunction in a radar system used to manage and monitor aircraft traffic in the Athens area. Because of the malfunction, temporary limits were placed on the pace of flights landing at Athens International Airport, leading to delays for departing flights as well as for those passing through the country’s airspace.

The malfunction is affecting not only domestic Greek flights or flights to Greece, but also many international flights, including flights to and from Israel, since a large share of regional air routes pass through Greek airspace. To keep operations moving, airlines began diverting aircraft to alternate routes.

As the disruptions were being felt on the ground, technical teams were called in to handle the radar system malfunction. Safety measures designed to allow air traffic management to continue in a controlled way were activated. After the responsible technical services completed their work, it was reported that the malfunction had been fixed and radar system operations had been restored.

The incident comes during what is considered one of the busiest times of the year for Greek aviation, as the summer season brings especially heavy passenger traffic. Greece is also one of the most popular vacation destinations for Israelis, so the impact of the malfunction was felt clearly on the flight board at Ben Gurion Airport as well.

A review of the flight board at Ben Gurion Airport showed delays on flights arriving from several major destinations in Greece, including Mykonos, Kos, Crete, Rhodes, and Athens. Some of the flights departing Israel for Crete were also affected by the disruptions, as airlines continue monitoring the state of air traffic and adjusting flight routes accordingly.