Munich Airport suspends flights again after fresh drone sightings

By Allyson Versprille and Danny Lee

 

Late night flights into Germany’s second-biggest hub were diverted after unconfirmed drone sightings led authorities to suspend operations, just hours after disruptions had eased on Friday morning.  

The airport restricted flight operations until further notice as a precautionary measure after the unconfirmed sightings, a spokesperson for the airport said in an email. 

 

Flights from London Heathrow, Lanzarote and Lisbon were diverted back or to other airports, according to data from tracker FlightRadar24. AirNav Radar, another flight tracker, flagged a notice to pilots that said the airspace had been closed due to drone sightings.  

Operations at Munich returned to normal at 5 am local time on Friday morning after drone sightings late on Thursday led to 17 departures being grounded and 15 incoming flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt.

 

The Munich disruption follows recent drone incidents across Europe that forced temporary closures and large-scale diversions at major hubs, including Copenhagen and Oslo, and prompted officials to warn of sophisticated operators and broader security implications. A spate of aerial incursions has sparked talks in the European Union around building a “drone wall.”