Today, Friday, Greek airspace witnessed a remarkable air accident after a Turkish drone unauthorizedly entered the flight information zone in Athens near the city of Alexandroupoli in the northeast of the country, prompting the Greek Air Force to send F-16 fighters to intercept it and remove it from the area.
According to Greek official television, the Turkish drone approached a point near the end of the runway at Alexandroupoli Airport, coinciding with a passenger plane preparing to take off, which led to an immediate alert by the Air Force and the authorities responsible for the safety of air navigation.
Greek F-16 fighters, which were on alert, took off and approached the drone within minutes, working to identify it and intercept its path, before the plane withdrew from the area and recorded its departure towards the island of Samothraki.
A Greek military source confirmed that the incident occurred, while information indicated that the rapid response to it prevented civil aviation traffic from being endangered.
The safety of the passenger flight at Alexandroupoli Airport was not affected, as as a precaution its take-off path was modified and kept at a low altitude until the drone moved away, before it continued its normal journey towards Athens International Airport.
According to the Greek military side, the incident falls within the monitoring and interception operations carried out repeatedly by the Greek Air Force in the Aegean Sea regions, especially when military aircraft or drones log in without adhering to approved aviation procedures.
The Greek military authorities differentiate between violating the national airspace and violating the air traffic rules within the flight information region in Athens, as they consider the entry of an aircraft into the national airspace without a permit a violation, while the entry of an aircraft into the flight information region without a flight plan is recorded as a violation of air navigation rules.
Records of the Greek General Staff indicate that drones have become frequently present in air accidents recorded over the Aegean Sea, while they are being dealt with through identification and interception procedures in accordance with approved military rules.
The Alexandroupoli accident acquires additional importance because it occurred near a civil airport and at a time when a passenger plane was preparing to take off, which required direct coordination between the civil aviation authorities and the Air Force to ensure the safe continuation of the flight.
