A special investigative committee met today with CAA leadership and technical staff at the Athens and Macedonia Area Control Center to review all technical aspects of the incident and the functioning of air-traffic systems at the time of the failure.

According to the Authority, the ongoing investigation has not identified any indication of a cyberattack. Judicial authorities have already launched a separate inquiry.

What happened on 4 January

The CAA reports that at 08:59 local time, multiple Athens FIR radio frequencies were simultaneously affected by continuous interference described as “noise,” originating from unintentional emissions of the service’s own transmitters. At the same time, disruptions were recorded in the CAA’s telephone links and HellasCom data circuits.

Both primary and backup voice-communication and transceiver systems remained operational, but the interference made the frequencies unusable.

Emergency response

The CAA immediately convened its Crisis Response Team, involving senior officials and the Air Navigation directorates. In coordination with EUROCONTROL, controllers temporarily cleared the Athens FIR to ensure flight safety. Gradual restoration began after midday as frequencies became available, and NOTAMs were issued to inform airlines.

CAA technicians were deployed to all major relay stations nationwide to conduct on-site checks. No evidence directly linked to the failure was identified. A CAA aircraft, carrying specialised staff and an EETT technician, also conducted airborne frequency monitoring. No suspicious emissions were detected.

Preliminary findings

Investigators currently believe the issue originated in the telecommunications infrastructure and not inside the CAA’s internal systems. The Authority remains in close coordination with OTE to cross-check the causes.

Full operational capacity was restored by 17:45 on the day of the incident.

Modernisation plans already in progress

The CAA notes that procurement is underway for new systems directly relevant to the failure:

• 495 new VHF VoIP transceivers (4.2 million euros, contractor ROHDE & SCHWARZ HELLAS), with the first deliveries expected in early 2026
• A new voice-communication and remote-control system for the Athens and Macedonia Control Center (4.7 million euros, contractor SPACE HELLAS), pending approval from the Court of Auditors

The Authority concludes that the professionalism of controllers and electronics staff ensured flight safety despite an incident affecting multiple unrelated systems simultaneously.

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