--- title: "Moldova closed its airspace after a drone strayed in from Ukraine: several flights delayed" description: "On September 12, Moldova temporarily closed part of its airspace after an unidentified drone strayed in from Ukraine. The restrictions led to the delay of several flights." date: 2026-09-12T20:46:01.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/moldova-closes-airspace-drone-ukraine tags: [moldova, drone, airspace, ukraine, chisinau-airport, aviation] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Moldova closed its airspace after a drone strayed in from Ukraine: several flights delayed ![Chisinau International Airport terminal in Moldova where flights were delayed after airspace was closed due to a drone from Ukraine](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/12/moldova-zakryla-nebo-bezpilotnik-ukraina/moldova-zakryla-nebo-bezpilotnik-ukraina-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - At 15:26, radars and the border police of Moldova detected a drone that had entered the airspace from the direction of Ukraine; at 16:03 the object was caught again in the north of the country. - Authorities temporarily closed the central (reopened at 16:20) and northern (reopened at 16:30) zones of the airspace. - The Sharm el-Sheikh — Chișinău, Chișinău — Bucharest, Chișinău — Istanbul and Chișinău — Alicante flights were delayed. - This is the second such incident this week: on September 8 a Shahed-type drone flew over Moldova. Against the backdrop of ongoing regional tensions, on September 12, 2026, the Republic of Moldova once again found itself at the center of an incident involving a violation of its airspace. The country's Ministry of Defense reported the unauthorized entry of an object into national airspace from the direction of Ukraine. To ensure the safety of civil aviation, authorities were forced to temporarily close part of the airspace, which led to the delay of several international flights. The photo shows the airport terminal that bore the main operational consequences of the incident. ### Timeline of the incident According to Moldova's defense ministry, military radars detected the object that had entered the airspace without authorization at 15:26. At the same time, a border police patrol visually spotted the drone in the area of the village of Vasilkovo in Soroca District. According to official information, the drone flew over the country's territory, after which it disappeared from radars near the village of Baksany in the same district. At 16:03, the UAV was detected again — this time in the area of the village of Cucuteni Nou in Edineț District in the north of the country. ### Authorities' response and airspace closure To ensure the safety of civil aviation, authorities temporarily closed the airspace in the northern and central parts of the country. The central zone was reopened at 16:20, and the northern zone at 16:30. Thus, the restrictions lasted less than an hour, but that was enough to affect the operation of airport infrastructure and the schedule of several flights. ### Impact on air traffic The restrictions directly affected several flights. An aircraft operating the Sharm el-Sheikh — Chișinău route spent some time in a holding pattern near the Romanian city of Bacău, circling while awaiting clearance to enter the airspace. Departures for the Chișinău — Bucharest, Chișinău — Istanbul and Chișinău — Alicante flights were also delayed. After the restrictions were lifted, flights resumed in normal mode, with authorities warning that, due to the temporary airspace closure, further schedule changes and delays of individual flights were possible. ### Context: not the first case this week It is worth noting that this is not the first case of Moldova's airspace being violated by drones. On September 8, the country recorded the flight of a Shahed-type strike drone, which also led authorities to temporarily restrict flights. At that time, Moldova clarified where the plane of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was located when the drone appeared — it was at Chișinău airport. The recurrence of such incidents within a single week raises questions about the safety of the region's airspace. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Moldova closed its airspace after a drone strayed in from Ukraine](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/moldova-zakrivala-nebo-cherez-bezpilotnik-1789245849.html) - Подтверждает временное закрытие воздушного пространства Молдовы из-за беспилотника, пришедшего со стороны Украины. - [Drone flew over Soroca and Edineț districts of Moldova: airspace was closed](https://esp.md/ru/sobytiya/2026/09/12/dron-proletel-nad-sorokskim-i-edineckim-rayonami-moldovy-nebo-zakryvali) - Подтверждает пролет дрона над Сорокским и Единецким районами и закрытие неба 12.09.2026. - [Shahed-type drone crossed Moldova: airspace was restricted](https://esp.md/ru/sobytiya/2026/09/08/dron-tipa-shahed-peresyok-moldovu-vozdushnoe-prostranstvo-ogranichivali) - Подтверждает пролет дрона над Сорокским и Единецким районами и закрытие неба 12.09.2026. - [Details: Shahed-type drone flew over Moldova's airspace](https://noi.md/ru/obshhestvo/podrobnosti-bespilotnik-tipa-shahed-proletel-nad-vozdushnym-prostranstvom-moldovy) - Дополняет детали инцидента 08.09.2026 с дроном типа «Шахед». ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: When did the closure of Moldova's airspace take effect on September 12? **A:** The central zone was reopened at 16:20 and the northern zone at 16:30; the object was first detected at 15:26 and again at 16:03. ### Q: Which flights were affected? **A:** The Sharm el-Sheikh — Chișinău flight was in a holding pattern near Bacău; departures for Chișinău — Bucharest, Chișinău — Istanbul and Chișinău — Alicante were delayed. ### Q: Was this the first such incident? **A:** No. On September 8 a Shahed-type strike drone flew over Moldova, which also led to a temporary restriction on flights.