Air traffic is normalizing in Greece, whose airspace has been reopened, the Civil Aviation Authority announced tonight.
The administration stated that the “technical problem” that appeared today at 8:59 a.m. at the same time on all radio frequencies for flight control communication with airplanes has been resolved.
The disturbance was in the form of “noise” which, according to initial indications, originated from the telecommunications infrastructure and prevented air traffic controllers from communicating with the planes.
Air traffic control radio frequencies and operational communication telephone systems were fully restored as of 17:00 local time.
The announcement on the closure of the Greek airspace was withdrawn, and as of 5:45 p.m., the traffic capacity of the airspace and the flow of air traffic returned to a normal level.
In all phases of the incident management, flight safety was fully ensured, in accordance with international standards, the statement reads, reports Beta.
The administration stated that “the cause of the technical problem, which has never been recorded before in this scope and form, is being thoroughly investigated by the electronics engineers of the Civil Aviation Administration of Greece”, and “the flight of a specially equipped aircraft for checking the spectrum of radio communications is underway”.
Thousands of travelers were stranded at airports in Greece and elsewhere in Europe as a problem with radio communications forced Greece to close its airspace, causing numerous flight cancellations and delays.
Arriving planes were mostly diverted to Turkey, and some were ordered to return to their place of departure.
Due to the disruption of flights across Greece due to a technical problem with the radio communications with the planes, the airport of Thessaloniki was completely closed today as air traffic communication was interrupted.
Greece’s main airport, in Athens, was among the hardest hit. More than 90 flights to and from that airport were canceled by the afternoon.
(Vijesti.ba)
