Overview
- Airport officials said airspace was closed from 21:47 to 00:16 on December 26 after drones were sighted, halting flight operations.
- Seven inbound aircraft were diverted to other airports including Paderborn, Bremen, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, with Bremen lifting its night landing ban to accept flights.
- Two connections to Frankfurt and Paris were cancelled, leaving knock-on effects for departures the following morning.
- Local reports described two drones seen around 20:49 near the north runway at roughly 80 meters and further sightings about an hour later near the south runway.
- Hannover has since resumed operations as police investigate the drones’ origin and type, following a similar 45‑minute shutdown in November.