Passengers check a flight information board inside Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos international airport in Athens, Greece, on January 4, 2026, as many flights were disrupted across Greece.
[Yorgos Karahalis/AP]
A contract meant to modernize how air traffic controllers communicate with pilots in Greek airspace has remained unfinished for seven years, despite being deemed critical for flight safety, officials and documents show.
The project resurfaced after the recent blackout that disrupted flights for hours in the Athens Flight Information Region, prompting renewed scrutiny of long-delayed aviation upgrades. The agreement, signed in April 2019, required delivery within 30 months, by September 2021.
Known as Contract 03/2019, it covers the procurement of a voice communication and recording system, or VCRS, for the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority. The 4.7-million-euro system was to be installed at the Athens-Macedonia Area Control Center and at relay stations.
Despite its relatively small cost, said the system is essential for Greece’s compliance with European Union law and for interoperability with the air traffic control platform TopSky ATC One, which remains incomplete, a senior Transport Ministry source.
The contract was signed by then-transport minister Christos Spirtzis and contractor Space Hellas. A former government official said the existing system was outdated after years of austerity. “In some cases the systems did not record the unique number of each flight in the Greek FIR,” the official said, citing safety concerns and lost fees.
Transport Ministry sources cite force majeure linked to the pandemic, technical complexity and coordination needs with other projects. Oversight committees of controllers and safety engineers disagreed over specifications, while questions arose over post-installation support.
In November 2022, the Civil Aviation Authority sought to amend the contract after missing the deadline by 14 months. Then-minister Kostas Karamanlis rejected the request, citing legal requirements. Officials said the contractor was not declared in default to avoid further delay.
After oversight shifted following the 2023 Tempe rail disaster and elections, legal advisers recommended declaring the contractor in default. The State Legal Council later advised the contract had not lapsed because materials are specified later.
A revised committee was formed in December 2024. In April 2025, the authority announced a restart. The Court of Audit rejected the amendment in October, ruling a non-active contract cannot be modified.
