Overview
- Flights resumed gradually from 7 a.m. Saturday after air traffic control halted operations around 9:30 p.m. Friday due to reported drones, affecting about 6,500 passengers with 23 arrivals diverted, 12 inbound cancellations, and 46 departures canceled or rebooked.
- The previous night’s shutdown stopped 17 departures and diverted 15 arrivals, disrupting nearly 3,000 travelers, as the airport and airlines provided cots, blankets, drinks, and snacks in the terminals.
- Federal police said darkness prevented identification of the devices’ type or origin, and searches with helicopters and other assets found no signals or immediate evidence.
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt scheduled talks with European counterparts this weekend on detection and defense and is fast‑tracking legal changes to authorize the military to neutralize drones, while Bavaria’s Markus Söder urges shoot‑down authority for police.
- The incidents align with a broader wave of unexplained drone activity across Europe, including recent airport disruptions in Denmark and Norway and overnight sightings near Belgium’s Elsenborn base, as Germany’s air traffic agency reports 144 drone‑related airport incidents through August.