In the early hours of Friday, Munich Airport, one of Europe's largest airports, was closed due to the sighting of unidentified drones. This closure resulted in 17 flight cancellations and affected nearly 3,000 passengers. According to Reuters, an additional 15 flights that were supposed to land in Munich were redirected to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt.
The German air traffic control authority (DFS) restricted flights at the Munich airport starting at 10:18 PM local time on Thursday, eventually halting all operations due to the presence of drones in the airspace near the airport.
The airport was reported to remain closed at least until 4:59 AM on Friday, October 3. By Friday morning, Reuters reported that operations at Munich Airport had resumed.
This incident follows a similar situation in Denmark last week, where air traffic was repeatedly closed at several airports due to suspicious drone activity. The Danish authorities have not yet released the findings of their investigation regarding the ownership of the intruding drones, but Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen suggested that Russia might be behind the disruptions at Danish airports.
European Union leaders on Wednesday backed plans to enhance the bloc's defense against Russian drones, despite Moscow's denials of involvement in the incidents.
Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary believes that unidentified drones violating EU airspace should be shot down.