The NATO exercise Air Defender 2023 has begun and occupies the airspace over Germany. This has an impact on holiday flights. Which ones are affected?
Munich – From June 12th to 23rd there will be a lot going on in the skies over Germany. NATO is conducting the largest military exercise in German airspace since World War II. 10,000 soldiers and around 250 aircraft are deployed in Air Defender 2023.
Air Defender 2023: A number of holiday planes have to dodge
The first military planes took off at 9 a.m. on Monday. At the airports in Berlin and Saxony, this has not yet caused any disruptions. In Hamburg, however, the NATO exercise has already led to delays. The Luftwaffe had assured that burden on the population to keep as low as possible.
Three air exercise rooms are used at different times for this purpose. On the weekend of June 17th and 18th, no military aircraft will fly for the exercise. However, restrictions cannot be avoided completely.
NATO exercise has an impact on a number of holiday flights: travelers sometimes have to come seven hours earlier
Some flights of the airline TUI are affected. While the NATO exercise is underway, several TUI machines will take off and land in Paderborn instead of in Frankfurt am Main. Most of them fly to Palma de Mallorca and Rhodes.
The airline has set up a bus transfer from Frankfurt to Paderborn for this purpose. Nevertheless, a major additional burden for travelers: seven hours before the scheduled departure time, the buses start from Frankfurt Airport to Paderborn, TUI announces on its website. Passengers who drive to Paderborn in their private car can park there free of charge. The drive takes about three hours via the A44, but probably a little longer by bus. When you arrive in Paderborn, the buses will leave as soon as possible.
NATO exercise Air Defender 2023: These TUI flights are affected
Outbound flights:
| X3 2128 | 13. June 2023 | 5:30 a.m | Palma de Mallorca (PMI) |
| X3 4262 | 13. June 2023 | 4:45 a.m | Rhodes (RHO) |
| X3 2128 | 14. June 2023 | 5:30 a.m | Palma de Mallorca (PMI) |
| X3 2812 | 14. June 2023 | 4:45 a.m | Faro (FAO) |
| X3 4262 | 14. June 2023 | 5:00 a.m | Rhodes (RHO) |
| X3 2128 | 15. June 2023 | 5:30 a.m | Palma de Mallorca (PMI) |
| X3 4608 | 16. June 2023 | 5:00 a.m | Kalamata (GPA) |
| X3 2128t | 20. June 2023t | 05:30 a.m | Palma de Mallorca (PMI) |
| X3 4262t | 20. June 2023t | 04:45 a.m | Rhodes (RHO) |
| X3 2128t | 21. June 2023t | 05:30 a.m | Palma de Mallorca (PMI) |
| X3 2812t | 21. June 2023t | 04:45 a.m | Faro (FAO) |
| X3 4262t | 21. June 2023t | 05:00 a.m | Rhodes (RHO) |
| X3 2128t | 22. June 2023t | 05:30 a.m | Palma de Mallorca (PMI) |
| X3 4202t | 22. June 2023t | 05:00 a.m | Heraklion (HER) |
All flights in this list depart from Paderborn (PAD) instead of Frankfurt am Main (FRA).
Return flights:
| X3 2139 | 12. June 2023 | Fuerteventura (FUE) | 5:20 p.m |
| X3 2259 | 12. June 2023 | Gran Canaria (LPA) | 4:55 p.m |
| X3 2807 | 13. June 2023 | Funchal (FNC) | 17:30 |
| X3 6103 | 13. June 2023 | Hurghada (HRG) | 6:40 p.m |
| X3 6757 | 13. June 2023 | Marsa Alam (RMF) | 6:25 p.m |
| X3 2139 | 14. June 2023 | Fuerteventura (FUE) | 5:25 p.m |
| X3 2143 | 14. June 2023 | Tenerife South (TFS) | 5:05 p.m |
| X3 2143 | 15. June 2023 | Tenerife South (TFS) | 5:05 p.m |
| X3 2259 | 15. June 2023 | Gran Canaria (LPA) | 4:55 p.m |
| X3 2139 | 19. June 2023 | Fuerteventura (FUE) | 5:20 p.m |
| X3 2259 | 19. June 2023 | Gran Canaria (LPA) | 4:55 p.m |
| X3 2807 | 20. June 2023 | Funchal (FNC) | 17:30 |
| X3 6103 | 20. June 2023 | Hurghada (HRG) | 6:40 p.m |
| X3 6757 | 20. June 2023 | Marsa Alam (RMF) | 6:25 p.m |
| X3 2139 | 21. June 2023 | Fuerteventura (FUE) | 5:25 p.m |
| X3 2143 | 21. June 2023 | Tenerife South (TFS) | 5:05 p.m |
All flights in this list land in Paderborn (PAD) instead of Frankfurt am Main (FRA).
Does the NATO exercise also affect Lufthansa and Condor? Easyjet is confident
What impact will Air Defender 2023 have on third-party aircraft? Airlines such as Lufthansa and Condor have not published any lists of this type. On request from reisereporter.de Lufthansa only said: “The concrete operational effects on the flight operations of the Lufthansa Group airlines are currently being examined. The Lufthansa Group strives to keep passenger flight operations as stable and reliable as possible.” Condor refers to the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry.
Easyjet, on the other hand, states that they do not expect any deviations from the flight plan. “At this point in time, our flight operations should proceed as planned. We are in close contact with the German authorities and all our partners to ensure that the impact on flight operations is as small as possible,” says a spokesman for the travel portal.
Why is the exercise taking place over Germany of all places? It was initiated by the Federal Republic in 2018. Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz stressed that Target of Air Defender is “that people can continue to fly on vacation in peace and freedom”. (moe)
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