Helsinki Airport resumes flights after drone alert forces suspension, officials say

Published on 15/05/2026 - 10:05 GMT+2

Helsinki Airport resumed mean formation operations connected Friday aft suspending aerial postulation for 3 hours owed to a drone warning, officials said.

The airdrome suspended aerial postulation from 4:00 am-7:00 americium section clip aft information authorities issued a information alert for the confederate Uusimaa portion implicit a imaginable drone successful the area.

"Although flights are operating again, the disruption volition origin delays and cancellations connected Friday, May 15. Morning delays whitethorn besides impact departing and arriving flights aboriginal successful the afternoon," Helsinki Airport said successful a statement.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said defence forces intensified surveillance earlier confirming connected X that the "danger successful Uusimaa is over," without providing further information.

Europe arsenic a full has been connected precocious alert for weeks aft drone flyovers into NATO airspace reached an unprecedented standard past September, prompting European leaders to hold to make a "drone wall" on their borders to amended detect, way and intercept drones violating Europe's airspace.

In November, NATO subject officials said a caller US anti-drone strategy had been deployed to the alliance’s eastbound flank.

And pursuing a usurpation of Polish airspace, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced the enactment of the Eastern Sentry programme, which aims to deter further Russian incursions.

Some European officials described the incidents arsenic Moscow investigating NATO’s response, which raised questions astir however prepared the confederation is against imaginable threats from Russia.

The Kremlin has dismissed allegations that Russia is down immoderate of the unidentified drone flights successful Europe arsenic "unfounded."

Meanwhile connected Thursday, Latvia's ​Prime ‌Minister Evika Siliņa announced she would resign pursuing a drone incident, efficaciously triggering the illness of the country's governing conjugation which has been nether strain for months.

"The astir important happening for maine is the wellbeing of Latvians and the information of our country," she said astatine a property conference.

"We are afloat alert of the times we are each surviving in. The brutal warfare waged by Russia successful Ukraine has changed the information concern passim Europe."

The drones were connected an onslaught ngo crossed the borderline successful Russia and Ukraine said they crashed into Latvian territory connected 7 May aft being electronically diverted by the Russian military.

One caused a occurrence astatine a disused lipid retention tract successful eastbound Latvia.

On Sunday, Siliņa sacked her defence curate Andris Spruds implicit the affair. She said Latvia's anti-drone systems had not been deployed rapidly capable to antagonistic the drone intrusions.

Spruds's sacking prompted 9 of his allies, chap members of the left-wing Progressive party, to discontinue Siliņa's ruling coalition, alleging she had made him a scapegoat.

Spruds formally resigned connected Monday and Salina projected a subject serviceman arsenic his replacement but the Progressive enactment rejected him.

The drone intrusions person not caused victims but they person exposed weaknesses successful the Latvia's aerial defence system.

Following talks with Latvia's President Edgars Rinkēvičs astatine a acme successful Bucharest connected Wednesday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said helium would nonstop experts to Latvia to assistance with their aerial defences.

Ukraine would besides enactment with Latvia "to physique a multi-layered aerial defence strategy against antithetic types of threats," helium said.

Rinkēvičs said a "long-term" aerial defence accord would beryllium prepared.