Greek aviation authorities have imposed a blanket ban on nearly all drone flights across a swath of the southeastern Aegean, according to six notices issued in recent days, in a move widely read as tied to military exercises or border-surveillance operations near Turkey.
The restrictions take effect Wednesday and run through Oct. 31, covering Karpathos, Kasos and the nearby islets of Saria and Armathia daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., grounding all unmanned aircraft from ground level up to 400 feet.
The notices do not name the agency responsible, but officials say the scope and location point to armed forces or security operations, with an authorized state operator remaining in contact with air traffic control throughout.
The notices came out the same day Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss an undersea electricity cable linking Greece, Cyprus and Israel — a project halted after Turkish warships appeared off Kasos in July 2024.
The restrictions also come amid mounting Turkish drone activity over the Aegean, which Greek officials say is testing the country's air-defense response times.
Military sources say any decision to shoot down a drone requires political authorization and would depend on demonstrated hostile intent, adding that Greece's current restraint reflects strategy, not weakness, while its new "Achilles Shield" air-defense system is still roughly three years from full readiness.