Germany: NATO exercise leads to delays

The large-scale NATO exercise in the airspace of the Federal Republic of Germany leads to delays and cancellations in the civil sector. The exercises are scheduled on weekdays from Monday to Friday and in the second week to Thursday.

Parts of German airspace are repeatedly closed for the exercise. For this reason, there are already numerous delays in individual flights in Hamburg. The German Air Traffic Control (DFS), the airlines, Hamburg Airport and all other partners at the site are working flat out to keep the impact on passengers as low as possible. Due to the dynamics of this exercise, it is not possible to predict Air Defender's impairments for individual flights. But Hamburg Airport has prepared staff for possible delays.

Hamburg Airport is asking all passengers who have booked a flight from Hamburg Airport or who plan to land in Hamburg during the 9-day exercise to continuously monitor their flight status and to contact the airline concerned if they have any questions.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to make a forecast for the coming days. Since Air Defender is the largest air exercise in the history of NATO, there are not yet enough empirical values. The effects can be very different on the individual days and in the course of the day. However, Hamburg Airport expects Air Defender to cause delays in the coming days of the exercise.