LUXEMBOURG CITY: Luxembourg’s authorities were investigating drone sightings that forced the temporary suspension of operations at the nation’s main airport overnight, Prime Minister Luc Frieden said on Saturday.

Frieden said Luxembourg was cooperating with NATO allies over the incident, which came amid heightened concerns in Europe over hybrid attacks from Russia.

He said the presence of “potentially bigger drones” in the country’s airspace had been observed “over the past few days” but it was too early to say where they had come from.

“We are currently analizing the situation,” the prime minister told a televised press conference.

Flight operations were briefly suspended at Luxembourg Airport overnight into Saturday after drones were detected flying near and over the airport without authorization.

The airport said the move was “a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of passengers, airline crews, airport personnel and aircraft”.

Flag-carrier Luxair said more than 1,800 passengers were affected by the suspension, which caused the diversion of 17 inbound flights to other airports such as Brussels, Paris and Frankfurt.

“Luxair is working closely with lux-Airport, the relevant authorities and its operational partners to assist affected passengers and restore its flight schedule,” the airline said.

Operations resumed on Saturday but further disruption and knock-on effects were expected, it added.

“This is new for Luxembourg but it’s not completely new for our neighboring countries,” Frieden said of the drone sightings, after an emergency meeting with Luxembourg defense and interior ministers.

Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv’s European allies have raised the alarm about “hybrid attacks” linked to Russia.

The attacks have fallen below the threshold of open warfare, but have included drone flights near sensitive sites, airspace violations, and cyberattacks.

Drone incursions have mostly affected states across NATO’s eastern flank. But unauthorized unmanned aircrafts were also spotted flying over sensitive locations across Belgium, and Denmark last year.

And this year an explosive-laden drone was discovered at a German airport in an incident Berlin blamed on Moscow.

“We will make sure that together with our partners we can keep our populations safe,” Frieden said.