Dozens of flights were grounded or diverted at Munich airport on Thursday after several drone sightings. At least 17 flights were cancelled leaving 3,000 passengers stranded, while a further 15 planes were diverted to nearby cities. The airport closed for more than two hours overnight until the airspace was clear. It has not been confirmed where the drones had come from, yet officials in Europe believe they were Russian – claims Moscow has rejected.
The airport said in a statement: “When a drone is sighted, the safety of travellers is the top priority,” adding that they alerted the authorities after the sighting. Departing flights were “suspended”, according to the airport, closing two hours ahead of its usual midnight hours. Inbound flights were redirected to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt.
The airport said that “camp beds were set up, and blankets, drinks, and snacks were provided”.
A spokesperson for German flag carrier Lufthansa said on Friday: “Nineteen Lufthansa flights were affected, either cancelled or re-routed, because of the airport suspension.”
They added that “flight operations have since resumed according to schedule”.
No information on the type or size of the drone has been confirmed due to it being dark when they were identified, Federal Police spokesperson Stefan Bayer told the Bild Newspaper.
The disruptions follow a spate of drone incidents across Europe. Last week, airports in Denmark and Norway were forced to shut due to unidentified drones, as security concerns were heightened across European countries.
Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, said the airport incident was “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date”.
Across September, 14 airports in Europe either closed or suspended flights due to drones in the airspace – the highest count in a single month.
In a separate recent incident, 20 Russian drones crossed into Poland and Romania, and Russian MiG-31 jets violated Estonian airspace.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin laughed at the claims of him ordering drones to Denmark last week.
“I won’t do it again. I won’t do it again – not to France or Denmark or Copenhagen”, he said, despite Russia denying responsibility.