Greece ranks among the three European countries with the longest flight delays this year, according to Eurocontrol data for the last week of June. The country accounted for 13% of total en-route delays across the European network, behind France, which remains first with 29%, and Spain, which follows with 21%.
Although Greece ranks third in terms of its share of delays, it shows the largest year-on-year deterioration, with an increase of 63% compared with the corresponding period in 2025. By contrast, delays in France are down by 38%, while in Spain they are up by 26%.
Specifically, 9% of delays across Europe are attributed to the Athens Area Control Centre and 4% to the Macedonia Control Centre.
According to Eurocontrol, delays in Greece are mainly attributed to capacity and staffing restrictions in air traffic management, and, to a lesser extent, to increased aircraft flows through Greek airspace due to the crisis in the Middle East. Of the total 13%, 9 percentage points are linked to the Athens Area Control Centre and 4 to the Macedonia Control Centre.
The issue is being examined at a meeting scheduled with the participation of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, the Hellenic Aviation Service Provider, air traffic controllers, Athens International Airport, and the two domestic airlines, AEGEAN and SKY express.
The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority responded in a statement that flight delays at Athens International Airport were reduced by 31.77% in June 2026 compared with June 2025, with the average delay per flight in the Athens FIR estimated at 2.26 minutes.
Sources: Skai.gr, Proto Thema
