Poland’s Operational Command triggered its highest state of alert in the early hours of 26 February after Russian cruise- and drone-strikes once again targeted cities in western Ukraine. Military officials ordered NATO and Polish fighters into the air and temporarily closed Rzeszów-Jasionka and Lublin-Świdnik civilian airports—both fewer than 100 km from the frontier—to clear the skies for air-defence operations. Services resumed a few hours later, but several LOT and Ryanair rotations were delayed or diverted.(polskieradio.pl)
Rzeszów-Jasionka has become a critical logistics hub for humanitarian aid and defence supplies moving into Ukraine since February 2022, so any interruption immediately ripples through cargo and crew-change schedules. The airport handled a record 2.5 million passengers last year; analysts estimate that 15 percent were business or NGO travellers supporting reconstruction projects in Lviv and Kyiv.
For organisations juggling last-minute travel documentation during such disruptions, VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) can streamline visa applications, transit permits and passport renewals for personnel moving through Rzeszów, Kraków or onward into Ukraine. The platform’s real-time dashboards integrate easily with corporate travel-management systems, giving security teams instant visibility into clearance status and helping ensure compliance in a fluid security environment.
![Poland scrambles jets and briefly shuts two eastern airports amid new Russian barrage on Ukraine]()
The incident underlines the persistent volatility that mobility managers face when routing staff to south-eastern Poland or onward to Ukraine. Companies operating in the region are revisiting contingency plans drafted at the start of the war—reconfirming hotel allotments in Kraków, pre-booking overland vans, and updating employee-tracking systems so that security teams receive real-time alerts when Polish NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) are issued.
Insurance brokers note that premiums for high-risk travel policies covering the Rzeszów corridor have already risen 18 percent year-on-year. Organisations with time-critical supply chains—particularly in automotive and life-sciences—are exploring alternate airports such as Katowice or Debrecen (Hungary) as fallback entry points. However, both add at least four hours by road to Lviv.
For now, Warsaw insists the closures were purely preventive and emphasises that Polish airspace remains safe. Nevertheless, the morning’s events are a stark reminder that eastern Poland straddles a rapidly changing security landscape—and that mobility programmes need the same agility as military quick-reaction forces.
Rzeszów-Jasionka has become a critical logistics hub for humanitarian aid and defence supplies moving into Ukraine since February 2022, so any interruption immediately ripples through cargo and crew-change schedules. The airport handled a record 2.5 million passengers last year; analysts estimate that 15 percent were business or NGO travellers supporting reconstruction projects in Lviv and Kyiv.
For organisations juggling last-minute travel documentation during such disruptions, VisaHQ’s Poland portal (https://www.visahq.com/poland/) can streamline visa applications, transit permits and passport renewals for personnel moving through Rzeszów, Kraków or onward into Ukraine. The platform’s real-time dashboards integrate easily with corporate travel-management systems, giving security teams instant visibility into clearance status and helping ensure compliance in a fluid security environment.
The incident underlines the persistent volatility that mobility managers face when routing staff to south-eastern Poland or onward to Ukraine. Companies operating in the region are revisiting contingency plans drafted at the start of the war—reconfirming hotel allotments in Kraków, pre-booking overland vans, and updating employee-tracking systems so that security teams receive real-time alerts when Polish NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) are issued.
Insurance brokers note that premiums for high-risk travel policies covering the Rzeszów corridor have already risen 18 percent year-on-year. Organisations with time-critical supply chains—particularly in automotive and life-sciences—are exploring alternate airports such as Katowice or Debrecen (Hungary) as fallback entry points. However, both add at least four hours by road to Lviv.
For now, Warsaw insists the closures were purely preventive and emphasises that Polish airspace remains safe. Nevertheless, the morning’s events are a stark reminder that eastern Poland straddles a rapidly changing security landscape—and that mobility programmes need the same agility as military quick-reaction forces.
