ATHENS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Giorgos Saunatsos, governor of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), resigned on Wednesday following a communications blackout in the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) ten days ago.
His resignation was accepted by Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Christos Dimas, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported. Giorgos Vagenas, deputy commander of air navigation, has been appointed to temporarily assume the duties of CAA commander, while procedures are underway to appoint a permanent successor.
The incident occurred on Jan. 4 and caused major disruptions to air traffic in the Athens FIR. According to an official report released on Tuesday, the blackout was triggered by "digital noise" resulting from desynchronization among multiple devices and interfaces at the KEPATHM facilities. The malfunction led to the unintended activation and continuous emission of critical transmitters, disrupting essential telecommunications systems.
Full service was restored after resynchronization, system reboots, and the rerouting of traffic to the backbone network, the report said.
The blackout temporarily halted all flights in and out of Greece, affecting Athens International Airport, Thessaloniki Airport and several regional airports. Thousands of passengers were stranded, and a number of inbound flights were diverted. ■
