Athens Airport faces flight delays following limitation of number of flights

2025-09-28 05:41:05

(MENAFN) Athens International Airport in Greece has been experiencing persistent flight delays since Thursday after air traffic controllers reduced the number of flights they manage per hour, as stated by reports.

The move, reportedly linked to disputes over bonuses and internal organizational changes, has slowed operations significantly. On Thursday, controllers limited arrivals to 23 per hour for October, down from previous capacities of 31 to 33 departures per hour compared with a usual 36. By Friday, arrivals increased slightly to 28 per hour, still below the summer peak of 36 per hour.

Aegean Airlines noted that this reduction cut airport arrival capacity by around 25 percent, causing morning delays of 30 to 40 minutes that worsened as the day progressed.

The current disruptions follow earlier incidents. In August, the failure of air traffic control equipment caused delays affecting 12 Ryanair flights and over 2,000 passengers. The airline commented on the ongoing challenges, saying: "So far in 2025, over 5,000 Ryanair flights and over 900,000 Ryanair passengers have been unfairly delayed due to Greek ATC (Air Traffic Control) mismanagement and staff shortages, making Greece the 5th worst performing ATC service for delays in Europe."

Athens Airport has faced punctuality issues throughout 2025. In July, only 48 percent of flights departed within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, a decline from 59 percent during the same month last year.

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