The committee’s report concludes that the incident resulted from desynchronisation across a series of heterogeneous systems and interfaces converging at the KEPATHM facilities. This desynchronisation led to the unintentional activation and continuous transmission of a critical number of transmitters, causing severe degradation or interruption of key telecommunications links. The findings state that no evidence of a cyberattack or external malicious interference was identified, rejecting scenarios that had circulated in the days following the incident.

According to the report submitted to the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Dimas, full system functionality was restored after resynchronisation and restart procedures, following the rerouting of traffic on the backbone network.

In a statement, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport said that, for flight safety reasons, a full capacity restriction was imposed and emergency procedures were activated. Services were restored gradually, with full restoration completed at 16:53 local time, following a voluntary intervention by the telecommunications provider.

Based on reports registered on the ECCAIRS platform and an assessment by the Civil Aviation Authority, the incident was classified as low risk (Green Area). No breach of the minimum required separation between aircraft was recorded. The report reiterates that no evidence was found to indicate a cyberattack or external interference.

In its section on aviation safety, the Commission stated that no aircraft were exposed to direct or indirect risk during the incident.

The report, however, makes specific reference to the communications infrastructure of the Civil Aviation Authority. It notes that the existing Voice Communication System (VCS), along with critical supporting telecommunications infrastructure, relies on outdated SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) technology that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. According to the Commission, this undermines guarantees of reliability and stable operation.

The Special Committee concluded with a series of recommendations, including:

– accelerating the transition to Voice over IP (VoIP) technology, with the completion of procurement, installation and commissioning of the new VCS/RCS systems and 495 new transceivers;
– establishing a permanent joint rapid response mechanism between the Civil Aviation Authority and the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, with standardised crisis procedures and regular testing and training under the supervision of the Hellenic Air Accident Investigation Authority;
– enhancing telemetry and remote control capabilities, including end-to-end diagnostic functions at network nodes;
– strengthening radio spectrum supervision by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission for the timely detection of interference or anomalies;
– relocating the KEPATHM facilities to a more suitable environment to reduce systemic operational risks and dependencies and ensure uninterrupted air navigation services.

The Commission of Inquiry was chaired by the governor of the Civil Aviation Authority, Christos Tsitouras. Its members included the governor of the National Cybersecurity Authority, Michalis Bletsas; Colonel Dimitrios Zampakolas, a communications engineer from the Hellenic National Defence General Staff; Nikos Igoumenides, deputy director of spectrum supervision at the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission; and a representative of EUROCONTROL. An observer representing the European Union Aviation Safety Agency also participated.

The committee identified the Civil Aviation Authority and the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization as the bodies involved in the incident. It requested and received official reports on their actions and assessed information gathered through interviews with executives from both organisations.

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