A Hellenic Air Force F‑16 fighter jet crash‑landed at Zakynthos airport on Thursday, forcing the island’s busiest summer terminal to shut for several hours.
The aircraft, on a training flight from Araxos Air Base, deviated at about 13:45 local time (10:45 GMT) when a technical fault was reported. Reporters said the jet received a fire warning and caught flames on the runway before authorities could deploy its landing gear.
The pilot managed to bring the aircraft to a stop, and firefighters doused the blaze while the jet slid dozens of metres across the tarmac.
The Hellenic Air Force confirmed that the crew was “in good health”, but the cause of the incident is still under investigation. No statements were made regarding the report that the jet failed to deploy its landing gear, a claim later dismissed by the Air Force.
The runway is now closed and flight departures and arrivals will remain delayed until 21:00. Early morning flights were already affected.
With thousands of passengers scheduled to arrive at Zakynthos this week, mostly from the UK, the crash threatens to add to the tourist bottleneck at the very start of the peak season.
A specialist Air Force team is expected at the island shortly to recover the aircraft and clear the runway so that operations can resume.
