A drone sighting and the discovery of a suspicious object at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport has led to flight disruption, with one runway remaining closed.
Several flights, including one passenger plane, were diverted to other airports after the sighting of a flying object near the airport late on Tuesday, police said, and an anti-explosives robot was deployed to check an object near the airport’s south runway
Flights using the other runway resumed early a couple of hours later but the south runway remained closed on Wednesday morning.
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German interior ministry spokesman Leonard Kaminski said a drone was found at the airport but declined to elaborate, citing the ongoing investigation.
A police drone takes off next to Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane at Leipzig/Halle Airport. Credit: Jens Schlueter/Getty Images
He would not comment on German media reports that it was seen near a Ukrainian plane and that possible explosives and a detonator were found attached to it.
He said a plane that was supposed to land at Leipzig/Halle broke off its approach, apparently collided with something and then landed at another German airport, Hannover.
The airport is a major cargo hub and the planes located there include Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft.
In 2024, an incendiary device ignited at a logistics centre at the airport and set fire to a freight container, part of a plot that Western security officials suspect Russian intelligence was behind.
The flight it was supposed to take was delayed.
Asked whether he saw any direct connection to the overnight incident, Kaminski said he did not at this point.
