Munich airport resumes operations after more drone sightings halted flights

Authorities in Germany’s Munich airport reopened after the airport was shut down the night before for the second time in less than 24 hours as concerns grow that Russia’s conflict with Ukraine could spread across Europe.

One of Germany’s largest airports, which reopened gradually on Saturday at 7am local time (05:00 GMT).

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6,500 passengers were impacted by the airport’s quarantine departures, which were forced to be delayed or cancelled until Saturday.

According to the Munich airport, “air traffic was restricted and then cancelled on Friday due to drone sightings,” meaning that 23 incoming flights were diverted and 12 bound for Munich were canceled, leaving nearly 3, 000 passengers stranded.

There were “two simultaneous confirmed drone sightings by police patrols around the north and south runways,” according to a police spokesman who spoke to the AFP news agency.

Before they could be identified, he continued, “The drones immediately fled.”

Authorities were unable to immediately identify the perpetrators of the overflights.

Unidentified drones are causing delays in airports in Denmark, Norway, and Poland, while Romania and Estonia have blamed Russia for drone attacks on their territory. Overnight in Belgium above a military base, drones were also spotted.

However, some experts have noted that anyone who uses drones could be in their path.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt earlier on Friday told Bild that the drone threat was a “wake-up call,” and that “more funding and research” on the subject was urgently needed at both the national and European levels.

German Unity Day, a national holiday, and Munich’s preparations for Oktoberfest’s final weekend caused the disruptions.

Due to a bomb scare, the annual beer gala and fun fair had already ended on Wednesday, when it was half-past.

On Wednesday, the German government is expected to approve any plans to allow the army to fire drones down if necessary.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, made a warning to Europe on Thursday that recent drone strikes indicated Moscow was trying to “escalate” its aggression.

Germany’s government is on high alert, claiming that over the past week, a swarm of them, including over military and industrial sites, had flown over the nation.

Denmark also raised the alarm, with Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister, repeating last week that only Russia “poses a threat to Europe’s security.”

Moscow, which has accused Russia’s President Vladimir Putin of igniting “hysteria” to justify increasing military spending, “solutely rejects” any suggestion of involvement.

Putin made fun of European claims that Russian drones had invaded NATO airspace during a discussion at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi on Thursday, saying he had no drones that could fly all the way to Lisbon, the country’s capital.