Munich Airport in Germany has cancelled over 17 flights due to the presence of drones detected near its airspace, impacting nearly 3,000 passengers. In addition to the grounded flights, 15 other flights were diverted to surrounding cities, including Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt. The airport suspended departures in response to the drone sightings and notified local authorities.
The first sighting of the drones occurred at 21:30 local time (19:30 GMT), with another sighting noted one hour later. However, due to darkness, officials were unable to confirm details about the type, size, or origin of the drones, as stated by Federal Police spokesperson Stefan Bayer.
Recent drone sightings have prompted heightened security measures across various airports in Europe. Notably, Copenhagen and Oslo airports have also experienced closures linked to unidentified drones near military and airport airspace. This uptick in drone activity has led to summits among European leaders to address security concerns. Additionally, there have been incidents involving Russian drones crossing into Poland and Russian MiG-31 jets entering Estonian airspace.
In a related context, the annual Oktoberfest festival, which attracts over six million visitors, is currently taking place in Munich and is scheduled to conclude on October 5. As a result of the flight cancellations, many passengers were left stranded overnight at the airport, where provisions such as camp beds, blankets, drinks, and snacks were made available to them.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the source of the drone activity, and the BBC has reached out to Bavarian state police and Germany’s federal police for further information.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpw1e7j5ew9o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss