Greece III 2026

NATO Tiger Meet

Greece III 2026

Our annual visit to the NATO Tiger Meet took us to Greece again in 2026. Held at Araxos in May 2026, 4Aviation travelled there with a small group of photographers that were interested in visiting the spotters day and the open day for the exercise. A short visit to the low-flying areas was a nice extra.

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7 May 2026

“My father made this”

Since the details of the spotters day were announced very late, we could only offer the tour as a land-only tour. Therefore, all participants (only 8, compared to over 30 normally for a NATO Tiger Meet visit) had booked their own tickets to get to Athens on Thursday 7 May. Three of the participants already met on the KLM afternoon flight to Athens, while the rest was waiting at the airport for the get together.

Getting the rental van went a lot faster than expected, and we checked in at our (alternative) hotel in Diakopto early-ish in the evening. Not many restaurants were open, but the one we went to, with plastic chairs and tables, served the whole group a very decent meal and drinks. The self-made raki (“My father made this”) topped it all off!

8 May 2026

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!

An early rise on Friday (8 May). We still had some driving to do to get to Araxos for the spotters day. Registration was scheduled to start at 07.30 and we made sure we arrived in time. All in all, the getting inside process was pretty smooth.

The weather wasn’t too great. Clouded, chilly, a little bit of rain at times. Due to our position, on the east side of the north-south runway, the cloudy conditions were actually an advantage. Less backlight!

It wasn’t too long before four Hellenic Air Force F-16s took off. This wasn’t the start of the Tiger Meet wave though. The came a bit later, after the arrival of Team Daedalus. A decent wave took off, including some nice new tiger paints. The Czech UH-1Y Venom choppers were nice additions. Surprise visitors were the two Italian Air Force T-345As.

During the ‘break’ between the two waves, a practice demo by the Hungarian Gripen and German Eurofighter brought the entertainment in the air. On the ground, huge amounts of many were spent on Tiger squadron swag.

By the time the afternoon wave started, the weather had improved a little. Also, the change of runways that happened brought different perspectives for the photos. All in all, an rewarding day, in line with the expectations.

9 May 2026

Tsarouchia Time

For Saturday 9 May, we had planned a day in and around Athens. After a leisurely start of the day, we ended up at the museum in Tatoi by the time they opened their doors. The weather was perfect and part of the display is very good. Especially the aircraft that are inside are in a very good condition. The area towards the operational part of the air base contains aircraft in a lesser condition. Access to the storage area wasn’t granted today. After all has taken the shots they wanted, we headed for the city centre.

First stop was the War Museum. With a number of military aircraft outside, and a conveniently located parking garage nearby, this was a good starting point for the afternoon. From here, we walked to the Parliament Building and watched the changing of the guards, with their traditional uniform (including the pompom-shoes – Tsarouchia) at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After this, we ended up near the Akropolis. Some of the group went up, other enjoyed a drink instead. After the group had reunited again we walked back to the van and drove back to our hotel. The night was spent on the plastic chairs of our restaurant from the first night.

10 May 2026

Squadron Swag Sunday

For today (Sunday 10 May) an open day and air show was scheduled at Araxos. We didn’t have to be there that early, so enjoyed a cup of coffee and ate a sandwich before arriving. The access process was a bit more complicated than two days earlier, but we got in nevertheless. The open day consisted of a static display (with nearly all special colours aircraft lined up), a display of a couple of aircraft and a repeat of the memorabilia sales extravaganza.

A very relaxed event, that contained a display of the Hungarian Gripen, German Eurofighter (twice), Greek T-6, Zues and a Hellenic Air Force F-4E. The open day was scheduled to end around 3 PM and this meant that we returned to our hotel earlier than the days before. For the last night in Diakopto, we chose a different restaurant. The food was great again, so were the beers!

11 May 2026

PhanCon prelude

Monday 11 May was the final day of the tour. Since PhanCon was scheduled to start on Tuesday (12 May), it was expected/hoped that Phantoms would make use of the low-flying area near Diakopto. We had booked our departure to Amsterdam later in the day, leaving time for a visit to the area. We met up there with the 4Aviation group that was visiting Greece for PhanCon. All things went according to plan; two F-4E Phantoms showed up and performed two awesome passes. They yielded great shots and planted seeds for more people wanting to visit the low-flying area again the future.

We said goodbye to the others around noon and headed back to Athens Airport. The handshakes at the airport (many were flying home on their own) marked the end of yet another 4Aviation NATO Tiger Meet tour. Though the group size was smaller than normal, the atmosphere in the group was perfect!

Greece III 2026

Greece III 2026

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“My father made this”

Tiger, Tiger, Tiger!

Tsarouchia Time

Squadron Swag Sunday

PhanCon prelude

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Greece III 2026

Greece III 2026

Greece III 2026

“My father made this”

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