Poland’s Lublin and Rzeszow airports were closed for several hours on Saturday due to Russian airstrikes on nearby Ukrainian territory, Polish authorities said.
“In connection with the need to ensure the possibility of the free operation of military aviation, the airports in Rzeszow and Lublin have temporarily suspended flight operations,” Polish Air Navigation Services Agency posted on X. The agency explained that the closure of airports is of preventive nature and aimed at securing and protecting the country’s airspace, especially in areas near the “threatened regions”.
Both airports in south-eastern Poland are adjacent to the Ukrainian border. It should be noted that Rzeszow is NATO’s main hub for weapons supply to Ukraine. Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 posted on X that the closure involved NATO aircraft operating in the area. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a notice to airmen, stating that both airports were inaccessible due to the military activity related to ensuring state security.
Lublin and Rzeszow airports temporarily suspended operations in January but the authorities claimed it had to do with a route operation and that there was no threat to Poland’s airspace.
Saturday’s closure of the airports came as Ukraine announced large-scale Russian attack on its energy facilities.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *