The staging of NATO's Ramstein Flag 24 exercise, which will be held in Greece for the first time, is facing obstacles due to Turkey's challenge to Athens' jurisdiction over flight information (FIR).
Ramstein Flag 24 is NATO's largest air exercise, expected to involve more than 140 aircraft, personnel and assets from 14 NATO countries.
According to the plan, a certain number of Turkish F-16 fighters are expected to move to Andravida and participate in training scenarios in various areas of the Athens FIR.
However, Ankara's consistent policy is not to provide the flight plans to Greek authorities, as it refuses to recognize part of the Athens FIR's jurisdiction.
Although preparations are in their final stages and the first arrivals of personnel and aircraft are expected at the 117th Fighter Wing in Andravida in about 40 days, the issue of submission, verification and approval of flight plans has not yet been resolved.
In 2022, during NATO's Tiger Meet exercise, Greece, as the host country, withdrew the invitation it had extended to Turkey due to the latter's intense illegal behavior in the Aegean Sea at the time. I BGNES
