Munich Airport Suspends Air Traffic Twice in 24 Hours Due to Drone Threat

The authorities at Munich Airport in Germany announced last night, Friday, the suspension of air traffic for the second time in less than 24 hours, following the sighting of drones in the vicinity of the airport, in a new development within a series of similar incidents occurring in Europe.

The airport management issued a statement explaining that the suspension of air traffic was a precautionary measure due to unconfirmed sightings of drones, which led to the cancellation, delay, and rerouting of many flights, without specifying the number of affected passengers so far.

For its part, the police confirmed the sighting of two drones over the northern and southern runways before 11 PM, indicating that the drones moved away before being fully identified.

This comes amid the announcement by the operational command of the German army in Berlin of a drone sighting over a military facility near the airport, while a previous sighting of drones on Thursday evening disrupted air traffic and affected about 3,000 passengers after the cancellation of 17 flights and the rerouting of 23 others.

In an official reaction, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt announced that the army would assist in protecting the civilian sector from drone threats by providing administrative support to the police, noting that a new bill regarding aviation security would be presented soon, amid the increasing danger of drones, not only due to their rising numbers but also because of their high quality, pointing out the sighting of drones with wings reaching 8 meters in northern Germany.

For his part, the Interior Minister of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann, called for expanding police powers to confront the drone threat, indicating the possibility of allowing the shooting down of these drones in cases of imminent danger, with a bill on this matter to be presented during the state council meeting next Tuesday.

Markus Söder, the Prime Minister of Bavaria, expressed the necessity of granting the police the authority to shoot down drones, announcing the intention to issue an emergency legislation allowing this, emphasizing the importance of asserting sovereignty over the state's airspace.

These incidents come after a week that saw the closure of airports in Denmark and Norway due to drone sightings, prompting European Union leaders at the Copenhagen summit to support plans to enhance the bloc's defenses against these increasing threats.

Munich Airport remains on standby today, Saturday, to resume normal air traffic, with expectations for operations to return at 5 AM, under close monitoring by German authorities to ensure the security of vital infrastructure and protect travelers.