Turkey Withdraws from NATO Exercise Amid Dispute Over Flight Plans in Athens FIR

Turkey’s refusal to submit flight plans for its fighter jets operating within the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) in relation to the significant NATO exercise “Ramstein Flag 24” ultimately led to its withdrawal from the event.

For several weeks, Turkey has pursued a strategy of challenging the Athens FIR, arguing that filing flight plans with Greek authorities is unnecessary since its aircraft would be operating within NATO airspace.

However, Athens rejected these claims, stating that they could not validate Turkey’s assertions. Additionally, other allied nations did not support Turkey’s position, as they all submitted flight plans for their respective fighter jets.