Five flights forced to divert after mystery drone is spotted

Five flights packed with British tourists had to be diverted to other destinations after a mystery drone was spotted near Alicante Airport.

Airport authority AENA suspended operations just before 9pm last night following the drone sighting. Normal activity wasn’t resumed until around 11pm last night.

Overnight it was confirmed ten international flights bound for the Costa Blanca had to be diverted to nearby airports, seven to Valencia, one to Murcia, one to Barcelona and one to Palma in Mallorca. 

Five were flights coming from the UK – three Ryanair planes which had taken off from Manchester, London Stansted and Newcastle; an easyJet flight from Liverpool and a Jet2 flight from Manchester.

The drone alert also caused delays for holidaymakers on outbound flights.

Graphics shared on flight tracking website Flightradar showed several flights headed for Alicante airport being diverted to nearby travel hubs.  

Local reports said around 1,000 travellers had been directly affected.

A statement by AENA said: ‘Due to the presence of a drone in the vicinity of the Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport, flight diversions are occurring. 

‘We are working together with the Security Forces to normalize operations as soon as possible’. 

Police were continuing to investigate today to try to identify the drone operator.

Earlier this month Palma Airport was thrown into chaos after a mystery drone was spotted near the runways.

And in late September flights were also diverted from Fuerteventura airport after a drone sighting, with reports at the time saying at least three planes packed with holidaymakers were turned away from the island airport.

Police are still trying to identify the person responsible for the problems in Majorca.

Recent reports said they could face a fine of up to £3.9 million. 

The highest fine could be applied if the drone operator turned out to be a professional like a pilot or aeronautical engineer.

If the person turned out to be a non-professional, the likely fine would be around the £195,000 mark.

The drone sightings over the Spanish holiday hotspot also comes after Lithuania was forced to close its capital airport late on Saturday and shut both crossings on the border with Belarus after helium weather balloons drifted into the Baltic country’s territory for a second consecutive day.

Traffic at Vilnius Airport was suspended until 2am local time while the Belarus border will remain shut until the same time, Lithuanian officials said. 

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region. 

The Vilnius airport also closed on Tuesday and Friday of this week and on October 5, each time due to balloons entering the capital’s airspace, authorities have said.

Lithuania has said balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes, but it also blames Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.

Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene on Friday said the country’s National Security Commission will meet next week to assess the situation.

The airport closure comes after NATO jets were scrambled on Thursday after two Russian military planes were briefly spotted in Lithuanian airspace.

The aircraft, an Su-fighter and Il-78 refuelling tanker, were in the airspace for 18 seconds, with Spanish jets from NATO’s Baltic division scrambled in response, according to the Lithuanian military.

The Russian planes were possibly conducting a refuelling exercise over the city of Kaliningrad before they flew 700 metres into Lithuanian territory, according to local media.

The country’s Ministry of National Defence said in a statement: ‘Our forces acted quickly with NATO jets on patrol.

‘Lithuania remains strong and ready. Every inch of our country is protected.’

President Gitanas Nausėda condemned the incident, stating: ‘This is a cruel violation of international law and the territorial sovereignty of Lithuania, and we have to react to this.’

This is a breaking news story, more to follow.