After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the NATO allies are once again focusing on common defense. An air force exercise is part of it – but without consequences for civilian passengers.
According to the Bundeswehr, the Air Force exercise “Air Defender 23” will hardly affect commercial and leisure airliners in June. No flight cancellations on the civilian side are to be expected, said the Air Force Inspector, Lieutenant General Ingo Gerhartz, in Hanover. This would have been the result of several studies by German air traffic control.
Although individual civil aircraft would have to make a detour between June 12 and 23, this would mean flight delays of a few minutes at most.
The exercise has been planned since 2018. 25 nations are involved. There are around 240 aircraft, including around 100 from the American side. According to the Bundeswehr, this is the largest military transfer exercise since NATO was founded. “Germany wants to take responsibility,” said the Air Force Inspector.
Locations of the exercise all over Germany
The exercise is purely defensive. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and against the background of Russian threatening gestures, the NATO allies once again made joint defense the focus of their preparations.
The bulk of the around 200 flights a day will take place over the North Sea and Baltic Sea, said Gerhartz. “We hardly have any noise pollution there.” The three air exercise areas used by the military, north, south and east, would be closed to civil air traffic for two to four hours every day.
According to Gerhartz, the majority of the combat aircraft will be stationed at the Jagel and Hohn military airfields in Schleswig-Holstein. The location for transport and logistics is the Wunstorf air base near Hanover. This is where the “Air Defender 23” exercise is to be opened on June 12 in the presence of Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD).
In addition to Hohn and Wunstorf, Lechfeld in Bavaria is a main hub. Other locations for the exercise include Spangdahlem in Rhineland-Palatinate, Volkel in the Netherlands and Čáslav in the Czech Republic.
Source: Stern
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