Drone intrusion forces Split airport shutdown and flight cancellations
A drone was detected near the runway of Split Airport on the evening of 31 July, prompting authorities to halt all take‑offs and landings for safety. The closure caused a massive backlog, with dozens of flights delayed or cancelled and thousands of passengers stranded. Police later detained a 36‑year‑old Hungarian tourist suspected of operating the drone in the prohibited airspace.
While the airport remained closed, an Iberia Airbus A320 arriving from Madrid suffered a front‑wheel tyre burst during landing, forcing the aircraft to stop on the runway and extending the suspension of operations. No injuries were reported among the 172 passengers and crew, and passengers were eventually escorted to the terminal. Aviation experts have opened an investigation, noting that the tyre failure could also involve a wheel‑assembly malfunction, but the incident underscores the security risks posed by unauthorised drone flights.
The combined disruptions affected an estimated 210 scheduled flights and about 57 000 travelers over the weekend, highlighting the vulnerability of busy tourist‑season airports to drone incursions.
Entities
Air traffic control · Airbus A320 · Airbus A320 (flight IB0945) · Air‑tractor aircraft · Barban (Istria) · Croatian Fire Service (HVZ) · Croatian Firefighting Union (HVZ) · Croatian Police · Fire‑dog teams · Hungarian citizen (drone operator) · Hungarian tourist · Iberia
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 4 SOURCES] Fires occurred in Istria and Split‑Dalmatia counties, including Orihi (Barban), Markovići (Oprtalj), Prapatnica (Prgomet), Labin and Novih Sela near Omiš. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] In a 24‑hour period, 143 fire interventions were recorded in Croatia. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] 197 fire organisations participated in the interventions. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] The total area burned was 60.4 hectares. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] Air‑tractor aircraft and three fire‑dog teams assisted in containing the blazes. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] 259 fire vehicles were used in the operations. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] Seven aerial firefighting aircraft were deployed. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr
- [● 4 SOURCES] A total of 774 firefighters were deployed. prigorski.hr · www.dalmacijanews.hr · www.24sata.hr · zadarskilist.novilist.hr