The findings of the report on the recent air traffic communications blackout are raising concern, according to the president of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Union, Panagiotis Psarros.

According to the report, the existing system is extremely old and does not even have an event log, meaning that a similar blackout could happen again. As he noted, “It could happen again. The issue is whether we can find solutions quickly.”

Speaking on ANT1’s main newscast, Mr. Psarros stressed the need for immediate handling of the situation based on the report’s data, while pointing out that during the incident there was no violation of minimum aircraft separation. As he said, controllers managed the situation successfully and all aircraft landed safely.

He described the state of the equipment as particularly worrying, saying, “We are not at five minutes to midnight—we are five minutes past.” He added that every delay amounts to a “lost summer,” since no substantial change is expected before 2028, while the new system is estimated to become operational in the summer of 2030.

Finally, he warned that with the current system only a specific volume of flights can be handled, something that is expected to lead to delays. He made it clear, however, that safety will not be compromised: “We will not handle more aircraft in order to reduce delays if that puts safety at risk.”