An aircraft operating a flight from Prague to Warsaw aborted its landing at Chopin Airport after a drone appeared along the approach path. The aircraft was already at a low altitude when the pilot increased thrust and lifted it back into the air.
Following the sharp maneuver, the captain addressed the passengers over the public-address system and explained that the landing procedure had been aborted because of an unmanned aerial vehicle in the airport area.
The aircraft circled for several minutes in the holding area above Warsaw. The crew then made a second approach, during which the aircraft landed safely. There were no reports of injuries.
Airport: This was a standard procedure
The incident was confirmed by Chopin Airport spokesperson Piotr Rudzki.
“There really was such an incident, but as far as flight safety is concerned, it was in no way threatened. This was a standard procedure, and flights are operating normally,” Rudzki said.According to Wirtualna Polska, the drone was spotted in the airport’s operational area. It has not been reported who was operating it or whether the unmanned aerial vehicle was found after the incident.
Drone flights around Chopin Airport without prior permission from the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency are prohibited. The reason is the risk of a collision with a passenger aircraft during takeoff or landing.
Polish law provides for up to five years in prison for creating a direct threat to air transport. In this particular case, there is no public information about an investigation having been launched or the drone operator having been identified.
Sources: wiadomosci.wp.pl