As air traffic surged in early 2026, passengers faced a higher risk of major delays on routes to and from Greece.
Flight disruptions in Greece more than doubled in the opening weeks of 2026, as air traffic to and from the country rose sharply, according to a new analysis by AirAdvisor, a global flight compensation and passenger rights service that monitors aviation performance data.
Using internal AIRDATA performance data, the study found that between January 1 and February 17 traffic to and from Greek airports increased by 85 percent compared to the same period in 2025. During that six-week window, 4.27 percent of flights experienced delays of 60 minutes or more, defined as LD60+ disruptions.
By contrast, in the equivalent period of 2025, the disruption rate stood at 2.07 percent. While total traffic nearly doubled year over year, the share of major delays also doubled, meaning roughly one in 23 flights in early 2026 was delayed by at least an hour.
The 2026 dataset covered 74,483 flights and recorded 3,180 significant disruptions, compared to 40,291 flights and 835 disruptions in early 2025.
“Growth is good for aviation, but reliability has to scale with it,” said AirAdvisor CEO Anton Radchenko. “When flight numbers rise sharply and the percentage of major delays rises as well, it shows that the strain is broad – not limited to one airport or route.”
Athens–Dubai corridor shows persistent pressure
Photo source: IATA
Among the most disruption-prone corridors, the Athens–Dubai route recorded the highest concentration of LD60+ delays at 36.07 percent, maintaining its position as the most affected route for a second consecutive year. Athens–Paris Charles de Gaulle followed at 11.37 percent, while Athens–Istanbul recorded 4.49 percent.
The findings suggest that operational resilience has struggled to keep pace with traffic growth as airlines expand schedules. While overall demand remains strong, the data indicates that infrastructure and scheduling pressures are affecting reliability across multiple routes.
AirAdvisor notes that under EU261 regulations, passengers may be entitled to compensation for long delays and cancellations. However, the broader trend highlights the need for aviation systems to scale operational capacity alongside rising demand.
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