Munich airport shut down after wave of drone sightings
The Munich Airport in Germany was forced to undergo a temporary closure for almost seven hours after a wave of drone sightings
Munich: The Munich Airport in Germany was forced to undergo a temporary closure for almost seven hours on Thursday night after a wave of drone sightings, becoming the latest European aviation hub to shut down over unexplained drone spotting.
A total of 17 flights were grounded shortly after 10 p.m. local time on Thursday, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, the airport said in a statement.
As many as 17 flights could not depart as they were grounded, while 15 incoming flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt, an official statement said.
Nearly 3,000 passengers have been affected due to the sudden shutdown of the Munich Airport.
In addition, 15 arriving flights were diverted to the German cities of Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Frankfurt, as well as Vienna in neighbouring Austria, the statement said.
Flight tracking website Flightradar showed several planes circling the airport at around 11pm local time before heading to other destinations.
The airport reopened at 5 am local time when flight arrivals and departures were deemed safe, a call handler fielding passenger enquiries told CNN.
Poland briefly closed part of its airspace southeast of the capital, Warsaw, on Sunday, citing “unplanned military activity,” as Russia launched a new wave of strikes on Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported. The Polish armed forces said aircraft were scrambled to ensure the security of its skies. It described the actions as preventive and aimed at securing airspace and protecting citizens.
As per CNN, a spate of sightings over several airports in Denmark last week saw tens of thousands of passengers impacted. Denmark later banned all civil drone flights in its airspace as it prepared to host a summit of European leaders in Copenhagen this week to discuss support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, and bolstering European security.
Russia has denied any involvement in the drone sightings.
Meanwhile, Russina President Putin addressing a summit in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Thursday dismissed suggestions he ordered drones to Denmark. “I won’t do it again. I won’t do it again – not to France or Denmark or Copenhagen”, Putin said.
Earlier this month, Polish and NATO forces intercepted Russian drones that entered Polish airspace, marking their first direct military engagement with Moscow since the 2022 invasion, Al Jazeera reported.
