Greece scrambled F-16 fighter jets Friday as a drone reported to be from Turkey flew over one of the country's airports, media and a military source said.
"A Turkish drone illegally penetrated" Greek airspace near the northeastern port of Alexandroupolis, near the border with Turkey, "prompting the immediate air force mobilisation", state broadcaster ERTnews said.
A Greek military source confirmed the incident to AFP.
European countries are on heightened alert for drone incursions after several high-profile incidents recently linked to the Ukraine-Russia war, which is now dominated by armed unmanned aircraft.
Greece and Turkey, though both in NATO, also have tensions between them stemming from competing claims over land and sea boundaries. Greek authorities have counted an increasing number of drone incursions since 2025.
ERTnews reported that the drone on Friday flew near the runway at Alexandroupolis airport as a passenger plane prepared to depart, and the "Greek F-16s that were on standby took off immediately".
News outlet Ekathimerini said two F-16s were scrambled and reported that the passenger aircraft was told to use a different runway then keep to a low altitude until the area was clear.
"It wasn't a serious incident," the military source told AFP.
He added that the air force responded to "incidents and daily interceptions" in Greece's northeast and in the southeast, over the Aegean Sea.
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