Over 20 flights canceled at Munich Airport due to unidentified drones
Illustrative photo: over 20 flights canceled at Munich Airport due to unidentified drones (Getty Images)
On the evening of October 2, unidentified drones were spotted in the area of Munich Airport, according to the German outlet Der Spiegel.
Munich Airport was closed late on Thursday, October 2, following the appearance of unidentified drones in its vicinity.
Both runways were temporarily shut down, resulting in the cancellation of about 20 flights.
"Federal police reported overnight that several individuals had spotted a drone near the airport. Later, additional reports came in about unmanned aerial vehicles flying directly over the airport grounds. It initially remained unclear whether it was one device or several," Der Spiegel wrote.
Officers from state and federal police patrolled the area searching for drones or possible suspects, but found nothing.
Drones over northern Germany
Earlier, on the night of September 26, suspicious drone flights were recorded over strategic sites in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. Several UAVs flew over the Kiel shipyard before being seen above a university hospital, a power plant, the local parliament building, and even an oil refinery.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned of a “heightened threat to national security” and announced plans to create a special center to counter drones. The Bundestag is also preparing a law that would allow the military to shoot down suspicious drones outside military zones.
Drone flights across Europe
Over the past two weeks, multiple unidentified drone incidents have been recorded across Poland and northern Europe.
On September 9, Russian UAVs crossed into Polish airspace, and on September 19, three MiG-31 fighters violated Estonia’s border, remaining in its airspace for over 12 minutes, the most serious such incident in two decades.
On September 27, drones were observed near Erland Air Base in Norway, home to numerous F-35 fighters and recent NATO drills. That same day, drones were also spotted in Denmark, over the airports in Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sønderborg, and near the Skrydstrup Air Base.
Meanwhile, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary called on EU leaders to shoot down drones threatening European airports, criticizing them for their "failure to protect strategic infrastructure" from UAV attacks.
