Many airports continuously record UAVs and strange flying objects
From the beginning of 2026 to now, at least 13 cases of UAVs and strange flying objects have been recorded in aviation operating areas in Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, directly affecting flight operations.
Notably, at Da Nang International Airport (HKQT), 6 UAV intrusions and one incident related to 3 UAVs were recorded in the period of February - April 2026. This series of incidents has affected dozens of flights.
Typically, on February 17, two drones were successively detected by flight crews in the operating area. One appeared at an altitude of about 3,800ft, the other at an altitude of about 1,200ft. The two incidents directly affected 30 flights.
On February 22, a flight continued to detect a drone at an altitude of about 1,700ft, causing 19 flights to be affected. On the same day, functional forces also detected a drone operating illegally near the northern runway, forcing air traffic control agencies to temporarily suspend emergency runway operations.
In the Northern region, incidents also continuously appeared. On the evening of March 15, flight crews at Cat Bi International Airport discovered a strange flying object in the approach area, at one point seen at an altitude of about 300m.
Through verification, the object was identified as a kite with a flashing light. The incident caused 4 flights to fly around and then change direction to land at Noi Bai, and 2 other flights had to wait to depart at Cat Bi.
On June 6, a flight just taking off from Noi Bai detected a UAV at an altitude of about 4,700ft, about 8km from the airport and flying in the opposite direction to the aircraft. The take-off operation at Noi Bai was then temporarily suspended for verification, causing 28 flights to be affected.
On June 7, Noi Bai continued to record kites in the operating area, causing 7 flights to be delayed. On the same day, in Cat Bi, a flight crew discovered a luminous flying object at an altitude of about 200-300ft near the runway. Functional forces later determined that this was also a kite.
Recently, on August 11, Tan Son Nhat International Airport had to temporarily suspend operations twice after detecting UAVs, affecting 73 flights.
Increase the ability to detect and suppress UAVs
Statistics show that most of the UAV and strange flying objects in the airport area are currently detected by the flight crew through direct observation.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam recently proposed that competent authorities soon assign a focal point to take the lead in handling when UAVs illegally intrude, and at the same time invest in specialized systems to detect, warn early and suppress UAVs when necessary, instead of manual verification and notification as at present.
Faced with the above situation, on August 12, the Ministry of Public Security also issued a warning about the risks from unmanned aerial vehicles.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, reality shows that UAV intrusions into no-fly zones have caused very large economic damage.
Statistics from Vietnam Airlines show that in the period from February 17 to 24, 2026 alone, incidents related to UAVs caused damage of about 5.6 billion VND, affecting about 9,200 passengers due to flight delays, schedule changes or extended waiting times.
Da Nang International Airport alone estimates the direct damage of the port and operating units here to be more than 10 billion VND, not including indirect losses to airlines, logistics enterprises and passengers.
In addition to economic losses, UAVs, if colliding with aircraft during takeoff or landing, can cause particularly serious aviation incidents or accidents.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, in addition to strengthening propaganda and dissemination of laws, the Public Security force is gradually researching and applying technical solutions to serve the detection, monitoring, warning and suppression of UAVs operating illegally in airport areas.
At the same time, closely coordinate with functional agencies to verify, investigate, and strictly handle violations according to the provisions of law.
