Flight delays hit Greek airports as air traffic controllers cap arrivals at Athens hub

[InTime News]

Greek airports faced large delays for a 2nd consecutive time Friday aft aerial traffic controllers capped arrivals astatine Athens International Airport, citing capableness limits and absorption to authorities reforms.

Controllers reduced incoming flights astatine Athens airdrome to 28 per hour, down from 36 during the summertime peak, said Panagiotis Psaros, president of the Union of Air Traffic Controllers.

Psaros said the bounds reflects the airport’s existent capableness aft controllers were pushed implicit the summertime to grip much flights than resources allowed. He added that the headdress would stay successful place.

The determination has triggered a domino effect of delays astatine Greece’s busiest airdrome and nationwide. Aegean Airlines said the simplification chopped Athens’ accomplishment capableness by astir 25%, causing delays of 30 to 40 minutes successful the morning, worsening passim the day.

Psaros said the enactment besides protests a draught measure enactment to nationalist consultation Thursday by the Transport Ministry to reorganize the Civil Aviation Authority. Controllers reason the betterment will worsen operations and accidental their proposals person been ignored.

Industry sources told Kathimerini the adjacent two to three months will beryllium captious for hiring staff and upgrading technology to normalize aerial traffic operations, warning that chronic inefficiencies person agelong plagued the system.