Warsaw, Poland – Polish authorities reopened the Lublin and Rzeszów airports in the southeast of the country on Saturday, following the conclusion of military air operations involving NATO aircraft flying in Polish airspace.
These operations were part of precautionary measures taken in response to Russia’s bombing of Ukraine.
The Polish Armed Forces Operational Command stated that the military air operations concluded without any violations of Polish airspace.
In a statement published on the X platform, the Command added that ground-based air defense
and radar reconnaissance systems have resumed their normal operational activities following the mission’s completion.
Preventive measures
The command expressed its gratitude to NATO, and in particular the German Air Force,
whose aircraft participated in securing Polish airspace and ensuring its safety during the operations.
It emphasized that the measures taken were precautionary in nature
and aimed at protecting Polish airspace, especially in areas near the border with Ukraine.
The Polish military had previously announced that the suspension of operations
at the two airports was a precautionary measure related to Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory.
It also emphasized that these steps did not reflect any direct threat to Polish territory.
For its part, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency clarified that air traffic
at Lublin and Grzeszów airports had resumed after a temporary suspension.
It added that the decision was made in coordination with the relevant military and security authorities.
Danger to the airspace
As the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) previously stated in a notice to pilots,
the two airports were temporarily unavailable due to military activity related to national security.
Both cities are located near the Ukrainian border. Rzeszów is a key NATO logistics hub for supplying military
aid to Kyiv, giving it strategic importance in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Operations at the airports were briefly suspended last month, but Polish authorities confirmed at the time
that the military activities were routine and posed no threat to airspace security or civil aviation.
