Poland closes airports due to Russian strikes on Ukraine

Poland closed two airports overnight for security reasons due to heavy Russian airstrikes on Ukraine, aviation authorities said on Saturday.

“Due to the need to ensure freedom of operation of military aviation, Rzeszów and Lublin airports have temporarily suspended flight operations,” the national air traffic control agency PANSA published on X.

Both cities are located near the Ukrainian border.

The Polish military previously announced that its fighter jets had taken off with those of NATO allies to protect Polish airspace. However, there were no airspace violations.

The army announced the end of the mission around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT).

Poland regularly sends fighter jets when Russia launches air attacks on Ukrainian regions near the border.

However, this generally does not result in the simultaneous closure of Polish airports.