Germany’s Munich airport stopped all flights for a second time in 24 hours following fresh, unconfirmed drone sightings, affecting thousands of passengers and raising security concerns across Europe.
On Friday evening, the airport announced that flights were suspended at 21:30 local time (20:30 GMT), leaving around 6,500 travellers stranded.
At least 17 flights were grounded on Thursday evening after multiple drones were spotted in the airspace near Munich, marking the latest disruption in a string of drone-related incidents affecting European aviation in recent weeks.
Belgian authorities reported sightings of 15 drones above the Elsenborn military site near the German border on Thursday. The drones reportedly crossed into Germany and were later observed by police in the small town of Düren. Officials have not been able to determine the origin or operators of the drones.
Germany’s Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he would raise the issue of anti-drone defences at a European interior ministers’ meeting on Saturday, initially scheduled as a migration summit.
Earlier on Friday, he promised to expedite proposed legislation allowing police to request military action to shoot down drones.
Recent drone activity across the European Union prompted a leaders’ summit in Copenhagen this week. Several EU countries have supported plans for a multi-layered “drone wall” system to detect, track, and neutralize Russian drones.
Twenty Russian drones have crossed into Poland, and Russian MiG-31 jets have entered Estonian airspace in separate incidents.
Airports in Copenhagen and Oslo were also forced to close after drones were spotted near airport and military zones. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said airspace incursions were worsening and it was “reasonable to assume the drones are coming from Russia.”
Russia has denied involvement, and Danish authorities say there is no evidence linking Moscow to the flights.
Speaking at a summit in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the claims, joking, “I won't do it again. I won't do it again - not to France or Denmark or Copenhagen.”