Emergency meeting held over flight delays at Athens airport
Greek aviation authorities convened an emergency meeting on Monday to address growing flight delays at Athens International Airport during the peak summer travel season.
The meeting, held at the Civil Aviation Authority, brought together representatives from the Civil Aviation Service, Athens International Airport, airlines and air traffic controllers to examine the causes of the delays and discuss possible measures to improve operations.
Although air navigation system limitations and staffing shortages have long affected operations, participants noted that delays have exceeded normal summer levels over the past three weeks.
Airlines have called for explanations, arguing that the allocation of flight slots established under a Joint Ministerial Decision is not being implemented as intended.
Under the current framework, Athens International Airport is authorized to handle up to 35 departures and 31 arrivals per hour during peak periods, 35 departures and 28 arrivals during the remainder of the day, and 22 arrivals and departures per hour overnight. The limits are based on the airport's operational capacity and safety requirements.
Airport officials said the main issue is not the overall number of approved flights but the way daily schedules are managed by the air traffic planning system.
According to airport sources, the system does not sufficiently adjust flight flows in real time to reflect changing operational conditions, preventing available capacity from being fully utilized and leading to cascading delays throughout the day.
The airport also stressed that it cannot alter the number of scheduled flights, as airline schedules were finalized and published in January.
Air traffic controllers, meanwhile, attributed the delays primarily to the concentration of departures during specific periods, particularly in the morning, when airlines prefer to schedule flights for commercial reasons.
Source:Kathimerini
