Greek flight delays: Are Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia services impacted?

Dubai: Flights were grounded for several hours on Sunday after a radio communication fault shut down large parts of Greek airspace; however, UAE airlines have said any disruption to their services has been limited and is now easing.

Emirates confirmed that its flights to and from Athens were only “minimally impacted” by the temporary closure of Greek airspace on the morning of January 4, 2026.

One Emirates service was rerouted over Bulgaria to avoid Greek airspace, but the airline said operations have since stabilised. An EK spokesperson confirmed to Gulf News that there is no disruption to Emirates' Greece services.

Etihad, Air Arabia and flydubai

Some aviation analysts have said that Etihad, Air Arabia and other Gulf carriers serving Greece have seen some delays and reroutes but are “less impacted” overall because their wider European networks are not heavily dependent on Greek airspace.

flydubai, which operates seasonal services to Greece during the summer rather than year‑round, is not currently running its Athens flights, limiting the immediate effect on its schedule.​

What happened in Greek airspace

The disruption began when a technical failure hit the radio‑frequency systems used by Greece’s air traffic control, forcing airports across the country to suspend arrivals and departures for several hours on Sunday.

Tracking data from platforms such as Flightradar24 showed Greek skies unusually empty, with Athens departures facing average delays of around 104 minutes and arrivals delayed by about 40 minutes at the height of the problem.​

Real‑time tracking and current status

By Sunday evening, flights in and out of Greece had started to resume, although Aegean Airlines and other carriers warned that reduced airspace capacity would continue to cause delays and cancellations while backlogs are cleared.

Live tracking sites still show some knock‑on delays around Athens and other Greek airports, so UAE passengers are advised to monitor their specific flight on airline websites and flight‑status portals before heading to the airport.