Flight delays are expected on 27 July 2026 for flights to and from Israel due to an air traffic control system malfunction operated by Eurocontrol in Brussels, the Israel Airports Authority (IAA) announced on X/Twitter.
Disruptions will affect flight schedules across European airspace with a high probability of prolonged delays for both departing and arriving flights until Eurocontrol completes troubleshooting and restores regular operations, the IAA said. Passengers are advised to monitor their flight schedules directly through their airlines.
The IAA spokesperson explained, “Due to a malfunction in the Eurocontrol system in Brussels, disruptions to the flight schedule in European
airspace are expected. As a result, there is a high probability of prolonged delays in departing and arriving flights in the coming hours, until Eurocontrol completes the troubleshooting and returns to regular operations.” Eurocontrol is responsible for managing European air traffic control, overseeing flight coordination in the region.
Greek Air Traffic Control Outage Disrupted Flights on 26 July
On 26 July 2026, an unrelated air traffic control outage grounded flights across Greece for several hours, delaying thousands of passengers, according to the Greek civil aviation authority. During this outage, overflights were still permitted within Greek airspace.
Panagiotis Psarros, chair of the Association of Greek Air Traffic Controllers, confirmed the loss
of all communication frequencies during the incident, stating, “For some reason, all frequencies were suddenly lost… We could not communicate with aircraft in the sky.” The cause of the Greek outage has not been determined.
Passenger Advisory and Official Statements
The Israel Airports Authority reiterated that flight delays are ongoing and will continue until Eurocontrol resolves the system failure. Passengers flying to and from Israel via European airspace on 27 July 2026 should check with their respective airlines for updates on scheduling.
This disruption highlights the critical role Eurocontrol plays in European flight operations and follows the recent Greek outage, which also impacted flight movements
in the region.
