ISTANBUL

Greece's Athens International Airport has faced flight delays since Thursday after air traffic controllers limited the number of flights they handle per hour, daily Kathimerini reported on Saturday.

In a move linked to a dispute over bonuses and organizational changes, air traffic controllers reduced the number of aircraft they manage per hour, causing flight delays at Athens International Airport since Thursday.

On Thursday, controllers restricted traffic at the airport to 23 arrivals per hour in October, down from 31 and 33 departures, compared with 36.

On Friday, arrivals rose to 28 per hour, compared with 36 during the summer season.

Aegean Airlines said Friday that air traffic control at Athens had reduced arrival capacity by roughly 25%, causing morning delays of 30 to 40 minutes that lengthened as the day progressed.

The recent delays followed Ryanair's announcement in August that the failure of air traffic control equipment at Athens International Airport had prompted delays to and from Greece, affecting 12 of its flights and impacting more than 2,000 Ryanair passengers.

“So far in 2025, over 5,000 Ryanair flights and over 900,000 Ryanair passengers have been unfairly delayed due to Greek ATC (Air Traffic Control) mismanagement and staff shortages, making Greece the 5th worst performing ATC service for delays in Europe,” it said in a statement.

In July, the airport also experienced worsening delays, with only 48% of flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, down from 59% in July of last year.