Polish airports suspend civilian flights at military request

The airports in the Polish cities of Lublin and Rzeszów have temporarily suspended the departure and arrival of civilian flights at the request of the military, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) announced.

“Due to the need to ensure freedom of action for military aviation, flights at the airports in Lublin and Rzeszów have been temporarily suspended,” the agency said in a post on X.

Poland has repeatedly taken such precautionary steps in 2026 whenever Russian drone or missile strikes target western Ukraine near the border, scrambling fighter jets (sometimes joined by NATO allies) and activating ground-based air defences while temporarily halting civilian traffic at the two southeastern airports closest to the frontier. 

Rzeszów serves as a major NATO logistics hub for military aid to Ukraine. Similar short suspensions occurred on consecutive days in mid-September 2026 and several times earlier in the year, reflecting heightened readiness along NATO’s eastern flank amid ongoing Russian attacks.

By Jeyhun Aghazada