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Greek Aviation Authority Resigns After Major Airspace Blackout

1/14/2026

Summary

Story summary

Greece's transport ministry announced the resignation of George Saounatsos, governor of the Civil Aviation Authority, after an eight-hour airspace blackout.
An official report attributed the outage to obsolete technology at Athens International Airport, causing flight disruptions.
Air traffic controllers faced communication failures from radio-frequency interference, and no evidence of cyberattacks was found.
Olga Toki, vice president of the controllers' association, urged system upgrades.
Officials claimed flight safety was maintained.

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Story summary

Greece's transport ministry announced the resignation of George Saounatsos, governor of the Civil Aviation Authority, after an eight-hour airspace blackout.
An official report attributed the outage to obsolete technology at Athens International Airport, causing flight disruptions.
Air traffic controllers faced communication failures from radio-frequency interference, and no evidence of cyberattacks was found.
Olga Toki, vice president of the controllers' association, urged system upgrades.
Officials claimed flight safety was maintained.