Poland’s Air Navigation Services Agency (PANSA) has issued a series of NOTAMs—headed A2676/26—covering the Warsaw Flight Information Region from 03:18 UTC on 17 September until 03:18 UTC on 20 September. The notices establish temporary no-fly “danger areas” at varying altitudes to accommodate a multinational military drill involving fast jets and unmanned platforms. While the restrictions are in force mainly between 22:00 and 06:00 local time, the ripple effects are felt throughout the day as airlines adjust crew duty times and ground-handling slots. LOT Polish Airlines has retimed several late-evening departures to Tel Aviv, Istanbul and Amsterdam, and Wizz Air reports holding flights on the stand for up to 40 minutes for revised ATC routings. Cargo carriers using the airport’s new EUR 55 million handling centre have been advised to submit flight-plan changes at least four hours before off-blocks to avoid denial of clearance. Corporate travel managers should alert employees to the likelihood of last-minute schedule changes and longer taxi-out times at Warsaw-Chopin (EPWA). Passengers connecting to long-haul services—particularly the overnight Boeing 787 flights to New York, Chicago and Seoul—are advised to allow extra MCT (minimum connection time) in itinerary planning. The exercise underscores how Poland’s role as a logistical hub for NATO’s eastern flank increasingly translates into civil-aviation disruption. According to the Civil Aviation Authority, military-related NOTAMs around Warsaw have quadrupled since 2022, a trend that mobility planners can no longer treat as exceptional. Although the current NOTAMs end on 20 September, PANSA insiders indicate that similar air-space reservations are pencilled in for the first week of October, coinciding with a scheduled missile-defence drill. Companies with time-critical travel—such as engineering shutdown teams or pharmaceutical cold-chain couriers—should therefore keep contingency routings via Kraków or Gdańsk on standby.
