Overview
- Flight movements were suspended around 18:58 on October 19 after multiple cockpit crews reported a drone near the runways, with operations resuming within 35 to 52 minutes according to differing accounts.
- At least eight arrivals were rerouted and reports documented a minimum of 13 diversions or cancellations, with aircraft diverted to Ibiza, Barcelona and Menorca.
- Ripple effects caused hours of disruption, and some departures left more than an hour late into the early morning despite traffic normalizing later that night.
- National police searched using their own drone along with radar and air‑surveillance of nearby farmland but found no trace of the operator as the investigation continued.
- A retired police drone specialist quoted by Mallorca media questioned whether the object was a drone, suggesting it could have been a bird, a view not confirmed by officials.