New investigations are underway to identify the cause of the unprecedented blackout in radio communications at Athens FIR on the morning of January 4th, which led to flight cancellations and hours of ordeal for thousands of travelers. Since Monday morning, the Athens Court of First Instance prosecutor has ordered an urgent investigation, while the slightest detail about what could have caused the problem remains unknown, as well as the timeline for any related findings.
Athens FIR: The battle over blackout responsibility – Investigations continue
The Civil Aviation Authority maintains that backup systems existed and the strategy followed for gradual reduction of capacity and flight services was implemented for safety reasons, attributing the problem to a technical issue involving interference of unclear origin.
On the other hand, the Greek Air Traffic Controllers Union refers to an outdated equipment system and states that many warnings have been issued in the past.
More specifically, the air traffic controllers dismiss scenarios about an isolated incident and technical failure, directly placing blame on poor management by the Civil Aviation Authority administration, accusing it of systematically ignoring warnings from air traffic controllers.
Following this incident, they demand immediate replacement of systems with modern surveillance and communication equipment that will meet European Regulation specifications.
“The Civil Aviation Authority administration bears complete and indisputable responsibility for operating outdated, vulnerable and inadequately maintained communication systems, which have repeatedly presented serious problems. Today’s situation did not emerge suddenly, it was forewarned!” say representatives of the Greek Air Traffic Controllers Union characteristically in their latest statement.
