Flights resumed at Munich International Airport early Saturday morning at around 7:00 a.m. local time after a second night of suspensions triggered by drone activity near multiple runways. Airport officials said the disruptions led to 46 flight cancellations or delays, impacting around 6,500 passengers.
Traffic restrictions began at 9:30 p.m. on Friday evening before full suspensions went into effect later that evening. This caused 23 inbound flights to divert and another 12 departures to be cancelled.
“Two simultaneous confirmed drone sightings by police patrols just before 11pm around the north and south runways,” a police spokesman said. “The drones immediately moved away, before they could be identified.”
The incidents continue an unusual trend of unidentified drone activity across multiple major European airports. Many analysts and commentators have drawn connections to European condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Other airports where similar incidents have occurred in the last week or so include ones in Denmark, Norway and Poland. Belgium, Romania and Estonia have also recently detected drones near sensitive sites.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt described Friday’s events as a “wake-up call,” telling Bild that additional research and funding were needed to counter the threat. The German government is expected next week to approve a proposal allowing the military to shoot down drones in restricted airspace.
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