Illegal broadcast antennas interfering with Greek air traffic control

Airline Industry Information, June 18, 2004

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Illegal broadcast antennas in Greece are causing pilots to hear music instead of instructions from air traffic control according to the Greek civil aviation authority.

A Greek official has said that the problem is caused when pilots fly over a mountain range in the northwest of the country where television and radio stations have set up illegal antennas about 15 metres away from an air traffic control relay station.

Although the interference does not jeopardise the safety of the aircraft the aviation authority said that the problem had been getting worse and a solution was being sought, reports The Associated Press.

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