- Why the 2022 tender was canceled, which would have cost Greek taxpayers €20 million less
- We will pay dearly for the chain of oversights and delays approved by K. Ach. Karamanlis.
- Christos Tsitouras, the head of ERGOSE and current candidate for a new term at the Civil Aviation Authority, called for measures to prevent “aviation Tempi” disasters.
- The head of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority was accused of awarding himself retroactive payments of €492,000.
- What caused the chaos and flight delays at Greek airports, especially at Eleftherios Venizelos?
By Aris Chatzigeorgiou
The Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport plans to rerun a radar tender across various regions of Greece with a €20 million “markup” for a project launched three years ago that was subsequently canceled.
Data Journalists revealed today that this feat by the ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) adds to a long-standing pattern of inaction that has left Greece’s airports and airspace without modern radar surveillance systems.
Despite the fact that air transport involves global corporate giants and millions of passengers from every corner of the world who expect to reach their destinations safely and on time, the whole scenario strongly resembles the situation on the Greek railways before the Tempi tragedy. During the parliamentary “mock inquiry” into the Tempi disaster nearly two years ago, Christos Tsitouras, the then-head of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (ΗCAA), called for measures to prevent “aviation Tempi” incidents. Tsitouras was invited in his capacity as the former head of ERGOSE. He is now a candidate for a new term at the HCAA despite having been accused of approving a decision that awarded him €492,000 in retroactive payments.
The 2022 and 2025 tenders. €34,720,000 became €53,600,000
However, let’s return to the controversial tender that increased by €20 million over three years. Originally announced in May 2022 and bearing the signature of the minister responsible at the time, K. Ach. Karamanlis. It concerned:
- The project includes the supply and installation of five co-located PSR/MSSR Mode S EHS surveillance systems (four TAR and one En Route) and two MSSR (EHS) Mode-S En Route systems to support air navigation services. The total procurement budget was €34,720,000, including VAT. Four of the systems were intended for terminal areas at Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes, and Corfu airports, and the remaining three were intended for route traffic management at Menetes (Karpathos), Attavyros (Rhodes), and Vigla (Lemnos).
- The tender process began but stalled due to a series of appeals among the candidate contractors. Similar problems had occurred in previous years with other tenders, leaving the systems outdated and difficult to maintain due to staff shortages. Outstanding tenders totaling €300 million are still pending.
- After the impasse, the 2022 tender was canceled. By August 2025, a new tender was launched—this time approved by the current Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Christos Dimas. However, its budget had risen to €53.6 million including VAT, even though it concerned the same systems, with only one additional radar added for Andravida Airport.
- The minister’s approval was based on a study by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials, without any explanation for the cost increase. The CAA is responsible for the operation of air navigation systems and is supervised by the HCAA Authority, which is considered an independent body. Yet, this arrangement has failed for years to install new systems, some of which have been in operation for over 20 years, and others that were long retired in other countries (e.g., Egypt), as air traffic controllers themselves have reported.
- Air traffic controllers have raised concerns about the Short-Term Conflict Alert (STCA) system, which is designed to operate in the Athens area. The STCA system automatically issues warnings when two aircraft come dangerously close. Controllers are responsible for monitoring the system to prevent unwanted incidents.
- On August 19, 2025, the radar system on Mount Merenta near Eleftherios Venizelos Airport malfunctioned, causing major flight disruptions. In response to Parliament, Christos Dimas acknowledged the problem, claiming it was an isolated failure during a peak period. He noted that the radar had 100% availability during the first half of 2025.
- Greece has been condemned by the Court of Justice of the European Union for violating EU law due to equipment shortages, and is now subject to inspections by the European Commission and the relevant authority, EASA.
- Despite these issues, the European Commission continues its usual approach, as it did with Tempi: giving Greece time to take compliance measures under an Action Plan.
Record Delays
- Rather than hiring additional staff for the CAA or installing modern systems, the government submitted a bill to transform the CAA into a legal entity under public law for public consultation. This creates an authority with enhanced powers to conduct tenders at its discretion and to make changes to the organizational chart and employee salaries.
- The combination of increased air traffic and the administration’s indifference to finding immediate solutions has already led to uncontrolled situations and inconvenienced passengers. Air traffic controllers have decided to strictly enforce the regulations and agreement they signed regarding overtime work. Based on these regulations and the additional pay they receive from fees paid by airlines, the staff had been handling more than 28 arrivals per hour to prevent delays.
- Since Thursday, September 25, air traffic controllers have decided not to handle more than 28 arrivals per hour, setting strict limits that have resulted in hundreds of flights arriving late at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, and even more departing later than scheduled.
- This situation is already prompting reactions from airlines at a time when tourist traffic remains very high. It should be noted that, following specific delays, the low-cost airline Ryanair recently launched a campaign criticizing Greece at the European Commission and asking its customers to send complaints to the Greek government. According to the airline, a total of 6,200 flights to and from Greece, carrying 1 million passengers, have been negatively affected in 2025 alone.
