Munich Airport Resumes Operations After Drone Sightings Cause Major Disruptions
Munich Airport reopened early Friday morning after โa nearly seven-hour closure triggered by multiple โdrone sightings, leaving approximately 3,000 passengers stranded and resulting in โthe cancellation of 17โค flights and the redirection of 15 others.
The disruptionsโ began Thursday evening when reports surfacedโ of a droneโ near the airport perimeter.shortly after,โ sightingsโฃ were reported directly above the airport grounds.โ Federalโฃ police initiated a search utilizing ground units and a helicopter, but the drone wasโ not located.
Flight operations were suspended at 10:15 PM,โข diverting incoming aircraftโข to airports in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and Vienna. A passenger reported their plane, already on the runway, was forced to return โฃto the terminal. Due to a night โฃflight ban in place between midnight and 5 a.m., โคnormal operations could not resume immediately.
Airport authoritiesโฃ and police providedโ accommodations for stranded travelers,โฃ setting up camp bedsโ andโ distributing meals within the terminal. Flights resumed at 5:25 AM following consultation with law enforcement.
Authorities have notโข yet determined whether existing drone detection systems were inโ use during the incident, or โif responses โwere solely basedโค on visual reports.โ It remains โคunclear ifโข the sightings posed โขan immediate threat to air traffic, or were isolated incidents.
The incident occurred amidst growing calls for enhanced drone defense capabilities inโค Europe. โ Jens spahn, leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, advocated for the rapid progress of a “functioning drone defense,” emphasizing the need for “an interlinked and agile technological ecosystem” rather than relying on fighter jets. He stressed the urgency of the situation, stating, “We have to build a functioning drone โdefense quickly.”
Spahn also voiced support for Foreign minister Johann WadePhul’s call for a re-evaluation ofโ Germany’s โขconscription policies,citing concerns about potential Russian โaggression as โคhighlighted by the Minister of Defense.