Spanish military plane overflies Gibraltar airspace twice during military exercises: British officials to lodge formal complaint

THE British Foreign Office is set to make a formal complaint after Spanish military aircraft made incursions into Gibraltar airspace ‘while a British Airways flight was taxiing on the runway.’

GBC reports the same Spanish plane overflew Gibraltar on both Friday and Monday, with a video of a cargo plane doing the rounds on social media.

On Friday the plane, designated BARB061, flew in from the east, straddled the rock heading south, before making a 180 and crossing over the Bay of Algeciras, according to flight tracking apps.

The Spanish government has claimed that Gibraltar’s ‘overlying airspace was not ceded by Spain [in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht] and has always remained under Spanish sovereignty.’

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The flyover coincides with Spanish-led military exercises that have been taking place in the waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, the Gulf of Cadiz and the Alboran Sea since September 23.

Eight Spanish navy ships are taking part in MAR 24-2, a training mission primarily focused on Above Water Warfare (AWW), but also includes electronic warfare and anti-aircraft warfare scenarios.

Among the military units are the inclusion of Italian marines and US helicopters.

The deployment will conclude with two open days next weekend in the port of Almería, where the Spanish frigates ‘Navarra’ and ‘Canarias’ will be open to the public 5 and 6 October, before returning to their base in Rota.