Luxembourg authorities have launched an investigation after drones were detected in airspace around the country's main airport, forcing a temporary suspension of air traffic overnight, Prime Minister Luc Frieden said on Saturday.
Frieden said Luxembourg was working with its NATO partners over the incident, which comes amid heightened concern in Europe about alleged Russian hybrid threats.
The prime minister said the presence of "possibly larger unmanned aircraft" had been observed in Luxembourg's airspace in recent days, but stressed it was too early to determine their origin.
"We are analysing the situation," he told a news conference.
Air traffic was briefly suspended overnight from Friday to Saturday after drones were spotted flying without authorisation within the airport's perimeter.
The suspension was ordered as a "preventive measure to guarantee the safety of passengers, airline crews, airport staff and aircraft", the airport said.
National carrier Luxair said more than 1,800 passengers were affected by the disruption, which resulted in 17 inbound flights being diverted to other airports, including Brussels, Paris and Frankfurt.
"This is something new for Luxembourg, but not entirely unprecedented for our neighbouring countries," Frieden said after an emergency meeting with the country's defence and interior ministers.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv's European allies have repeatedly warned about hybrid attacks linked to Moscow. Such incidents have included drone flights near sensitive sites, airspace violations and cyberattacks.
Drones were reported flying over sensitive locations in Belgium and Denmark last year, while earlier this year an explosive-carrying drone was detected at a German airport, with Berlin blaming Russia.
