Teenagers have been blamed by most for causing the problem. As planes land the laser pen is pointed at the cockpit causing the pilot to lose sight. The trend has grown in recent years according to the chairman of the association of Greek pilots Grigoris Constantellos.

So far this year over thirty incidents have been reported. The pens are capable of causing up to five seconds of blindness for the pilots. As well as Athens there have been problems at Crete and Rhodes.

There were arrests in Crete last weekend after two teenagers forced a domestic flight to initially fail to land. There have also been reports of similar incidents in Corfu and Thessaloniki.