The largest-ever NATO air force deployment exercise in European skies caused hundreds of flights to be delayed or diverted.
According to Euronews, the Air Defender 2023 exercise will last until June 22 and will take place mainly in German airspace. About 800 flights will be diverted every day in connection with the exercises and related activities.
Tourists are also warned that civil aviation delays are possible. Of the 800 flights that will be rerouted, approximately 300 routes will be extended by an average of 110 km.
The busiest airports, such as London Heathrow and Gatwick, will be most affected by the timetable.
Budget airlines such as Ryanair tend to accumulate delays the fastest. The time between arrival and departure of some planes is less than 30 minutes.
In total, 10,000 military personnel and 250 combat aircraft from 25 countries, including the United States, are participating in NATO exercises.
“I know there may be restrictions on civil aviation… When I see the ratio: 10 days out of 365, so that we can ultimately live in a peaceful and free country, I think that’s the right signal that we have to send”, – noted the commander of the German Air Force, Ingo Gerhartz, who is in charge of the exercises.
For Air Defender 2023 training, large areas of airspace also used by civilian aircraft, mostly over Germany, are blocked.
- in the north – using the airspace of Denmark and the Netherlands;
- in the east – near the borders of Poland and the Czech Republic;
- in the south – from Luxembourg along the French border to Lake Constance in Switzerland.
Daily use of these areas is prohibited or very limited for civil flights for a few hours. Training stops on weekends.