Delays at Athens Airport due to “slow down” by Air Traffic Controllers

Delays and increased traffic are observed at the Athens international Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” due to a 25% “slow down” of arrivals launched by the Air Traffic Controllers on Friday. On Monday, September 29, the delays persist and nobody knows where the problem will be solved.

The air Traffic Controllers have set a limit on how many aircraft can arrive at a specific time citing operational and safety issues, such as the airport capacity. The “slow down” means that fewer flights are being served per hour than expected.

The Air Traffic Controllers action started on Thursday morning, September 26, with delays of 30 to 40 minutes but by Friday afternoon they reached up to two hours, state broadcaster ERT reported.

Due to the persisting delays, there is currently mess for passengers at the Athens airport, where despite the fact that the summer season and the summer programs of airlines are coming to an end.

The increased traffic is observed in the arrivals area, while the picture at departures is no different from other days.

In the systems of the European Organization for the Safety of Air Transport (Eurocontrol), this limitation of flights is recorded at minus 25% in terms of the available arrival capacity, with what this implies in terms of flight delays.

In a statement, the Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” said:

“We would like to inform the passenger public that as of yesterday 25/9/2025, the Air Traffic Control of the Civil Aviation Authority is implementing capacity restrictions in the management of airspace at Athens Airport.

These restrictions are leading to delays in the flight schedule.

The passenger public is requested to contact their airline and consult the airport’s electronic media for further information.”

Also, AEGEAN Airlines issued a statement informing passengers  of “30-40 minute delays on Friday morning, which are expected to escalate during the day, due to a restriction of arrivals by Air Traffic Control.

AEGEAN would like to inform all passengers that, as of Thursday, September 25, the arrival capacity allocated by Air Traffic Control at Athens International Airport ‘Eleftherios Venizelos has been reduced by approximately 25%.”

According to some media information, the decision of the air traffic controller to slow down… aims at protesting the changes being promoted in the legal framework regarding their work and a change of their status.

It is an informal “white strike”, that is a “work-to-rule” action as a reaction to the changes that are due and related to the assignment of projects, personnel transfers and positions of supervisors as well as the merging of areas of responsibility. They, therefore, decided to strictly apply the schedule, resulting in these delays.

it seems that the whole issue has to do with the regulations of the bill for the conversion of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority into a Legal Entity of Public Law, as well as the chronic issue of overtime work and additional remuneration, given that throughout this period the controllers are called upon to manage a much larger volume of flights at the largest airport in the country, which continues to increase every month.

In relation to the bill, the Transport Ministry appears to be convinced that it will improve the overall conditions in air transport and the management of the issue of air traffic.

Two days ago, the Governor of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, George Saunatsos, stated that the bill for the reorganization and transformation of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority into a public legal entity will be put up for consultation in the coming days, with the main goal “to acquire a more flexible structure with a simple organizational chart”.

The Air Traffic Controllers have been complaining for years about personnel shortages and the urgent need of modernization.

The civil Aviation Authority has announced that 97 people are being recruited and another 72 will be also in the first quarter of 2026, while the recruitment will continue also in 2027.

Regarding the modernization of air navigation systems, the Hellenic Aviation Authority said that is working on 13 major projects, with a total budget of over 300 million euros, with the two most emblematic projects including the air traffic management system (ATM) and the modernization of radars.

It should be recalled that low-cost airline RYANAIR used very harsh language in the past and complained to the European Union authorities, noting that this year Greece was in the top 5 of countries with the longest delays, affecting over 1 million airline passengers from the beginning of the year until mid-August.