Germany’s Munich airport was forced to temporarily close after waves of drone sightings, the latest European aviation hub for shuttering drone flights of unknown cause.
A total of 17 flights were grounded just after 10pm local time on Thursday, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, the airport said in a statement.
Additionally, 15 flights arriving have been converted to Germany’s Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, and nearby Vienna, Austria, the statement said.
A passenger inquiry from Munich Airport’s call handler Fielding told CNN:
The airport in Bavaria, in southern Germany, is the hub of German flag carrier Luftanza, serving around 20 million passengers in the first half of this year.
It will be the latest European airport to close after witnessing a nearby drone. Tens of thousands of passengers were affected last week, as was seen at several Denmark airports.
Denmark later banned all civil drone flights in the airspace as it prepared to hold a European leaders summit in Copenhagen this week to discuss the fight against Russia and support for Ukraine to enhance Europe’s security.
Europe has been on the verge of caution in recent weeks due to a series of drone sightings, alleged invasions by Russian drones of NATO airspace in Poland and Romania, and alleged violations of Estonian airspace by Russian fighters.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredericksen said that while authorities cannot conclude who is behind the sightings of drones in Denmark, “at least we can conclude that there are mainly countries that pose a threat to European security.”
The Kremlin denied involvement in the sighting of the drone and violated Estonian airspace.
Munich, a historic city of over a million people, had already had the advantage after the famous Oktoberfest Beer Festival was shut down earlier this week due to the bomb threat.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
