During the return of the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras from the island of Ro to Rhodes, two Turkish fighters flew at 25,000-27,000 feet, while the Turkish controller demanded the helicopter pilot to leave, what they said to be, the Turkish airspace! He immediately ignored and informed the Prime Minister and the Army Chief of Staff that were onboard.

Chinook didn’t change its course and the pilots did not respond to Turkey’s provocation. However, shortly after 3 pm, the Turkish Airforce started again their provocative behavior with a pair of F-16s who had taken off from Dalaman AirForce Base and were constantly trying to enter the FIR of Athens.

The Hellenic Airforce responded with two pairs of jet fighters that intercepted the Turkish F-16s. The violation of the Athens FIR took place as the Chinook carrying the Greek Prime Minister was still on its way to Rhodes.