Belgian authorities closed the airspace over Brussels Zaventem Airport after multiple drone sightings disrupted flights on Tuesday night. Public broadcaster VRT reported that officials halted all arrivals and departures following the first drone alert above the airport.
After briefly reopening the airspace, authorities shut it down again when a second drone appeared. Liège Airport, which had accepted diverted flights from Brussels, also closed following a separate drone sighting. A spokesperson for skeyes, Belgium’s air traffic control agency, said the first incident occurred around 8 p.m., forcing flights to divert to Ostend-Bruges and Charleroi Brussels South airports.
Officials confirmed that security teams are investigating both incidents as a potential threat to civil aviation.
NATO and EU Respond to Rising Airspace Breaches
NATO and the European Union raised security levels after a series of airspace violations believed to involve Russia. In late September, NATO warned Moscow it would defend its airspace “by all necessary means” following drone shootdowns over Poland and an incursion by Russian jets into Estonia.
The 10 September event in Poland marked the first direct NATO-Russia confrontation since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Estonia later accused three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets of entering its airspace for 12 minutes without clearance, an allegation the Kremlin denied.
These repeated incidents unsettled European leaders and intensified concerns about Russian aggression near NATO’s eastern borders.
Alliance Launches New Defence Initiative
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced a new program, Eastern Sentry, to strengthen regional defense and deter further Russian incursions. “We see drones violating our airspace. Intentional or not, it’s unacceptable,” Rutte said. “Allies stand fully with Poland. We must counter aggression and defend every NATO member.”
The alliance said Eastern Sentry will coordinate air surveillance, rapid response forces, and intelligence-sharing across member states. European defense officials continue to monitor potential links between recent drone activity in Belgium and escalating Russian operations near NATO territory.
