Drone Spotted Near Brussels Airport for Second Day
A drone was detected near Brussels Airport for the second consecutive evening on Saturday, Belgium’s air traffic control operator Skeyes confirmed, renewing security concerns around one of the country’s busiest aviation hubs. The airport operator said it received no report of a drone and reported no disruption to traffic.
According to VRT NWS, the sighting occurred on the evening of Saturday 12 September, one day after a drone report briefly halted part of the air traffic above Zaventem.
What Skeyes Reported
Skeyes spokesperson Kurt Verwilligen said the air traffic controller established the drone both visually and through digital detection equipment. “Les opérations ont repris à 20h20,” the operator said, referring to the half-hour interruption required between a report and a restart under the applicable Rogue Drone Procedure, RTBF reported. Skeyes did not specify the nature of the operations involved.
Brussels Airport struck a different tone. Spokesperson Quentin Mertens told Belga that the airport’s services received no report on Saturday about a possible drone overflight, and that there were no diversions, no delays and no operational disruption, as L’Avenir reported.
It is not yet clear what type of drone was involved or where it came from. The federal police are responsible for the investigation.
Friday’s Disruption
The latest sighting follows a more disruptive incident on Friday 11 September, when landings at Brussels Airport were temporarily suspended after a drone report. No aircraft could land between 21:45 and 22:10, and three flights were diverted. The disruption was limited, but it marked the second time in less than a year that drone activity had directly affected operations at the national airport.
A Recurring National Concern
The repeat sightings revive a drone-security file that dominated Belgian headlines in late 2025 and early 2026. From late October 2025, unknown drones were repeatedly spotted above Belgian military bases and airports, causing major aviation disruption. On 4 November 2025, all air traffic at Brussels Airport was halted for safety after a drone report — with sources telling VRT NWS that three drones were seen. Sixteen Brussels Airlines departures were cancelled and aircraft were diverted to Ostend-Bruges, Charleroi, Eindhoven and Lille. Drones were also reported above the Kleine-Brogel air base in Peer and the Florennes air base, home to Belgium’s first F-35 fighter jets.
The scale of the problem became clearer in Skeyes’ 2025 annual figures. The operator recorded 46 unauthorised drone flights near or over airports and sensitive areas in 2025, up from just eight in 2024, according to VRT NWS. About half of those incidents were tied directly to the November 2025 wave. Skeyes said the situation “normalised from December” and has since set up a drone surveillance system.
In response, Defence Minister Theo Francken set up an anti-drone action plan and quickly released about 50 million euros for detection equipment and anti-drone weapons. Longer term, up to half a billion euros has been discussed. Russia denied any involvement in the drone operations over Belgium.
Not every reported incident has turned out to be what it first appeared. A VRT NWS fact-check in November 2025 found that some purported images of drones above Brussels Airport and military sites were actually a police helicopter and a cargo aircraft. VRT’s Pano programme later found no evidence of hostile drones above Belgium and noted the rapid 50 million euro spend despite a negative advisory.
Analysis: A Detection Gap
The most striking element of this week’s incidents is the mismatch between what Skeyes logged and what the airport recorded. Skeyes detected a drone on both evenings; Brussels Airport reported no signal and, on Saturday, no disruption at all.
That gap matters for two reasons. First, it suggests the detection systems used by air traffic control may be more sensitive — or differently calibrated — than those relied upon by the airport operator. Second, it raises an open question about whether some detections could be misidentifications, a possibility Belgium has already had to confront once. Belgian authorities have not confirmed any such fact-check for this week’s sightings.
What to Watch
The federal police investigation will determine the drone’s type and origin. Beyond the immediate case, the coming weeks will show whether this is an isolated recurrence, copycat activity or a resumption of the 2025 drone campaign. Given the file’s political sensitivity, further scrutiny of detection spending and the National Security Council’s role is likely. For now, Brussels Airport is operating normally — but the sightings are a reminder that the drone challenge over Belgium’s skies is far from resolved.