Eindhoven Airport closed after drone sightings

Air traffic at Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands has been suspended following the sighting of multiple drones.

Dutch minister of defence Ruben Brekelmans said defence counter-drone measures were "ready to intervene".

The country's police and military are also on site, the minister added in a post on X, and an investigation is ongoing.

The airport in the south of the Netherlands is used for both military and civilian purposes. All types of air traffic had been halted, Mr Brekelmans said.

It is still not known where the drones came from.

The Dutch military on Friday evening had used weapons against drones sighted above the air force base in Volkel, some
40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of Eindhoven, the defence ministry had said earlier on Saturday.

Various airports in Europe were forced to temporarily close in September over drone sightings, including in Denmark, Norway and Copenhagen.

Earlier in September, Russian drones were intercepted flying over Poland and Romania, while three Russian jets entered Estonian airspace without permission.

Read more:
Airport drone sightings: What we know
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The three incursions into NATO airspace fuelled concerns about the potential expansion of Russia's three-year war in Ukraine and have been seen as an attempt by Moscow to test the military alliance's response.

Do airports have to completely close?

No, airports do not have to implement a complete shutdown when a drone is detected, but it is typical to halt air traffic in and out of the space to avoid collisions.

This has knock-on effects for travelling passengers, causing delays and flights being redirected elsewhere.

It is the owner or operator of an individual airport that decides whether to close the facility, and for how long planes are halted.

(c) Sky News 2025: Eindhoven Airport closed after drone sightings