Overcrowded skies
At the Athens air traffic control centre, screens fill with green arrows representing tourist-laden jets, a puzzle to solve at the height of the tourist season. "Look at this sky, it's crazy, there's no room for any more planes!" exclaimed Olga Toki, vice-president of the Association of Air Traffic Controllers of Greece.
This is a busy summer for the overworked air traffic controllers, as reported by Hindustan Times and Yahoo News New Zealand. In the low season, Greece's airports typically handle between 1,000 and 1,500 flights per day, according to the Greek Civil Aviation Authority. In the first week of July, by contrast, they handled an average of 2,700 flights per day.
Overall traffic in southeast Europe, which includes Greek airspace, has risen about 40 percent from 2019, according to Eurocontrol, the air navigation safety organisation. That underlines a boom in tourist arrivals in Greece, which last year were 23 percent higher than the 2019 pre-Covid peak, at 38 million, in a country of around 10 million people.
A system under strain
Even before the summer rush, nerves were on edge. A January 4 breakdown in the communication system linking air traffic controllers and aircraft laid bare a glaring weakness. Controllers could see the planes on their screens but were unable to hear or talk with the pilots. The authorities had to close Greek airspace for hours, causing chaos, with a chain of cancellations and diversions to neighbouring countries.
The crisis was the catalyst for the announcement of a renovation programme costing around 300 million euros ($350 million), including the installation of new digital communication systems. The systems began to be installed in mid-August. The entire project—which includes replacing ageing radar—is supposed to be completed by 2028.
The European Commission last year brought a case before the Court of Justice of the European Union reproaching Greece for failing to bring its navigation procedures in line with the global Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) standard.
Short-staffed control room
For those charged with keeping travellers safe, it is a sober responsibility. In the control room, the map of Greece is divided into 10 sectors, each managed by a controller. Giorgos Stamoulakatos, a shift supervisor, said there are 154 controllers and they need 250. He noted that 92 were hired in 2025 and 77 in 2026, but each newcomer must be trained for five years.
Areti Anastopoulos, an air traffic controller for more than 30 years, described the increased workload: normally they guide around 20 pilots per hour, but now 40 are in the queue. She said 33 planes landed in one hour, while 28 is supposed to be the limit. "Tourism is our added value in Greece. But more planes without more investment is not possible," she said.
Toki added that in addition to commercial flights, they monitor incursions by Turkish planes and drones, and that Greece's geographic position increases their workload.
Extra pressure from regional conflicts
The Middle East war has added around 300 extra flights crossing Greek airspace every day, nearly six percent of daily traffic, according to Eurocontrol. This compounds the seasonal surge, putting further strain on the system.
Passengers and businesses feel the delays
The knock-on effects are visible on the ground. Passenger Jose Lopez arrived from Barcelona 30 minutes late and said that's not shocking in the middle of August, having experienced much worse delays. Christos, a valet at a major Athens hotel, said delays are more frequent than last year and that he has had to wait up to seven hours for American clients.
As the tourism boom continues, the question of how to balance growth with infrastructure investment remains pressing for Greece, a country of around 10 million people that welcomed 38 million visitors last year.