SAS cancels at least 3 flights from Athens and disrupts Greek island connections

Disruption overview

Passengers traveling with Scandinavian Airlines through Athens International Airport on 24 May 2026 faced at least 3 flight cancellations, along with wider delays on services to and from Copenhagen and Stockholm. Because many travelers were connecting onward on separate domestic tickets, the disruption quickly spilled into Greece's island network, with missed connections for routes to Lemnos, Milos, Naxos, Rhodes, and Samos, and some passengers pushed into overnight stays in Athens or ferry alternatives from Piraeus. The cause had not been confirmed, so whether compensation under EC 261 applies will depend on what went wrong. If your trip was affected, it's worth checking your rights and asking the airline about rebooking, meals, and accommodation if needed.

Disruption details

Passengers flying with Scandinavian Airlines through Athens International Airport faced cancellations and lengthy delays on 24 May 2026, as at least 3 SAS flights were canceled and more services ran late. The disruption hit routes linking Athens with Copenhagen and Stockholm just as Greece's late-May move toward peak summer schedules was picking up.

For passengers, this meant more than a late departure from Athens. These SAS services are often the international leg of same-day onward journeys to the Greek islands, and many travelers book those domestic flights separately. When one incoming service is canceled or badly delayed, the rest of the itinerary can fall apart quickly, especially if you're trying to connect on the same day.

That was especially true for smaller airports such as Lemnos International Airport, Milos Island National Airport, and Naxos Island National Airport, where daily frequencies are limited and the last departure often leaves in the late afternoon. If you missed that window, your options narrowed fast. Some passengers were pushed into an overnight stay in Athens, while others had to look at ferry alternatives from Piraeus the next morning.

The knock-on effects spread well beyond the canceled SAS services:

• Passengers bound for island destinations had far fewer chances to rebook later the same day.

• Larger gateways such as Rhodes International Airport and Samos International Airport also saw revised times as domestic operators reshuffled gates, aircraft, and crew.

• Compressed rotations added further delays across the network and squeezed already busy departure windows.

Those larger airports usually have more daily flights and an expanding mix of international services, which can help absorb disruption. Even so, the need to protect capacity after the SAS problems still forced adjustments across domestic operations. When airlines start moving gates, aircraft, and crew to recover one part of the schedule, it can quickly create pressure elsewhere in the day.

That pressure was harder to absorb because demand was already strong for early-season island trips. Late May is when summer flying starts building pace, and spare seats are not always easy to find. In practice, that meant even a relatively small shortfall of 3 flights was enough to create a bottleneck in Athens and tighten availability across the island network.

What caused the shortfall is still unclear. No strike, weather event, or IT failure had been confirmed on 24 May 2026, and SAS had not published a formal explanation. Until revised timetables show a full return to normal operations, the disruption is still being treated as ongoing, which means passengers should keep checking the latest status rather than assuming schedules have fully recovered.

If you're due to travel through Athens over the next few days, a few practical steps can help:

• Leave a wider buffer between your international arrival and any onward domestic flight.

• Monitor live flight-status updates for both parts of your journey, not just the first leg.

• Think about ferry backup options from Piraeus, especially if you're heading to Cycladic islands where air capacity is tight.

Those steps matter most if you've booked separate tickets. When your connection isn't on one booking, a delay on the first flight can leave you trying to rearrange the rest of the trip at short notice. In a busy period, that can mean higher rebooking costs, longer waits, or settling for a route that gets you to the island a day later than planned.

As Greece's summer flight program accelerates, airlines and analysts will be watching closely to see whether SAS or other carriers adjust schedules or add standby capacity. After an early-season disruption like this, even small changes can make a difference if the aim is to prevent another squeeze across the Athens-to-islands corridor.

If your SAS flight was canceled at short notice or arrived more than 3 hours late, your rights will depend on what caused the disruption. If the problem turns out to have been within the airline's control, EC 261 may apply on eligible journeys. If it was outside the airline's control, compensation is less likely, which is why the missing explanation matters.

Even when compensation isn't clear yet, you should still ask the airline about the help available to you. That can include rerouting or a refund, food and drinks during a long wait, and accommodation if you're stranded overnight. If your journey was affected, you can also use AirHelp's free flight checker to see what rights may apply to your trip.

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