New Delhi: The day was 23 December 2025. Sitting in the dark, the NATO air command detected a breach of its airspace. Amid blaring sirens and blinking radar screens, the analysts—no identification and defences deployed—feared the worst.
The track originated from the North Pole—an unidentified flying object following no clear path and no distinguishing trajectory. It took a full hour before NATO’s combined forces identified the flying object and another hour before communication could be established. It was Santa on his sleigh. Jingling all the way.
Contact was finally established with the sleigh with call sign SANTA01. NATO’s X updates informed that Santa responded, saying, “All systems fully mission capable”. The sleigh flew low enough to make final checks before Santa’s priority mission began on Christmas Eve.
Soon after, NATO Air Command wrote in a final update on X: “SANTA01 is cleared through NATO Airspace.
INCIDENT: We are currently monitoring an unidentified flying sleigh entering NATO airspace. The track originates from the North Pole and is flying an erratic path🎅 ⁰No NATO jets have been scrambled. pic.twitter.com/6A7WRRaUur
— NATO Air Command (@NATO_AIRCOM) December 23, 2025
NATO Combined Air Command’s Christmas wishes on its official X account—complete with hourly updates—drew many reactions from fellow X users.
One X user asked if Santa had proper travel documentation, including a visa. Also, will he be allowed into the US?
Another user questioned NATO’s interception capabilities in light of the airspace violations by Russian planes and drones.
The light-hearted banter by NATO air command comes after months of serious challenges—the intrusion of Russian unmanned aerial vehicles in its airspace in countries like Poland and across the Baltic States.
The Canadian Coast Guard issued similar greetings on its X account, reporting a Santa sighting on its icebreakers in the ocean, while the Royal Canadian Air Force tracked him in the skies.
While our friends at @RCAF_ARC track Santa in the sky, we found him… aboard our icebreaker! 🎅🚢 pic.twitter.com/E5Y6W3ue8k
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) December 23, 2025
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) has been tracking Santa’s flight path since the late 1950s, after a child trying to reach the elusive Christmas figure called a misprinted number.
🎥 Santa Cam: Seattle, Washington
Santa has been spotted flying over Seattle, bringing holiday cheer to the Pacific Northwest as he nears the final stops of his journey. NORAD confirms his sleigh is moving right on schedule.
🌐 Track Santa live at https://t.co/Odv8Z6k8PV… pic.twitter.com/w3dJGRQLEt
— NORAD Tracks Santa (@NoradSanta) December 25, 2025
The number led to a call between the child and the Continental Air Defence Command, NORAD’s predecessor, and ever since, the US military has kept an eye on Santa’s flight path as a part of Christmas festivities.
Flightradar24, the aircraft tracking website, has launched a live Santa tracking map on its blog, showcasing the path of Mr Claus across the global airspace.
Disha Vashisth is an alum of ThePrint School of Journalism currently interning with ThePrint
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)