Munich airport halts flights after drone sightings; passengers stranded

Nearly 3,000 passengers are stranded. The sightings travel akin incidents successful Denmark and Norway past week.

Germany’s Munich airdrome has been forced to suspend operations aft drone sightings led to the cancellation of 17 flights, the diversion of 15 others, and the stranding of immoderate 3,000 passengers.

The airdrome said aboriginal connected Friday that drone sightings were archetypal reported by German aerial postulation power astatine 10:18pm section clip [20:18 GMT] connected Thursday, starring initially to a regularisation connected flights which was past upgraded to a afloat suspension.

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Fifteen flights scheduled to onshore astatine Munich were diverted to airports successful Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt, Munich airdrome said successful a statement.

Germany’s DPA quality bureau said constabulary reported that respective radical had seen a drone adjacent the airport, with aboriginal sightings of a drone implicit the airdrome grounds.

Police helicopters were deployed, but “no accusation is disposable connected the benignant and fig of drones”, a constabulary spokesperson told DPA.

Airline and airdrome unit acceptable up campy beds and provided blankets and nutrient to assistance the astir 3,000 passengers affected by the formation cancellations and diversions, the airdrome said.

“When a drone is sighted, the information of travellers is the apical priority,” it added.

“It is important to emphasise that the detection and defence against drones are sovereign tasks and are the work of the national and authorities police,” it said.

Flight tracking work Flightradar24 said the airdrome would stay closed until aboriginal connected Friday.

After reported drone sightings implicit Munich Airport earlier this evening the airdrome remains closed until 0259 UTC this morning. 14 flights were diverted. https://t.co/CFDGoduFWa pic.twitter.com/b5hwFI4xVZ

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 3, 2025

The closure of Munich follows past week’s drone sightings that forced impermanent closures astatine airports successful Denmark and Norway.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen suggested that Russia could beryllium liable for the drone disruptions astatine aggregate airports successful her country.

Earlier connected Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking astatine the Valdai Discussion Group successful the Black Sea edifice of Sochi, joked astir European claims that Russian drones had invaded NATO airspace, saying that helium promised helium would not bash it again, successful the lawsuit of Denmark, and that helium did not person drones that could alert each the mode to Portugal’s superior Lisbon.

“I volition not. I volition not [send] immoderate much drones, neither to France nor to Denmark, Copenhagen. Where other bash they alert to?” Putin quipped.

“If we talk seriously, we bash not person drones which tin scope Lisbon,” helium said.

European Union leaders backed plans connected Wednesday to bolster the bloc’s defences against Russian drones arsenic they met successful the Danish capital, Copenhagen, days aft the airspace intrusions by unidentified drones.

“Europe indispensable beryllium capable to support itself,” Prime Minister Frederiksen said aft the EU summit.

“We request to fortify our accumulation of drones, of anti-drone capabilities, and this includes gathering up a European web of anti-drone measures that tin support and, of course, besides neutralise intrusion from outside,” she said.

European Commission main Ursula von der Leyen called past period for what she described arsenic a drone partition – a web of sensors and weapons to detect, way and neutralise intruding unmanned craft – to support Europe’s eastbound flank.

Her proposition came conscionable hours aft immoderate 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace.

Moscow has denied work for the reported drone incursion and has accused European countries of making mendacious allegations to disturbance up tension.