- A drone carrying an explosive device was found near a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig-Halle airport
- A bomb disposal robot was deployed to examine the drone on the southern runway
- Multiple flights were diverted including a passenger plane from Mallorca
- A DHL cargo aircraft collided with an unknown object mid-air and sustained minor damage
- The airport resumed operations on the northern runway while investigators examined the scene
A drone found near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at a German airport overnight was fitted with an explosive device, police and prosecutors have confirmed. A bomb disposal robot was deployed at Leipzig-Halle airport after the drone was found on the tarmac, sparking alarm and forcing the diversion of numerous flights. One aircraft that had to abort its scheduled landing at Leipzig-Halle airport then collided mid-air with an unknown object nearby but later landed safely elsewhere, the government said. “A drone carrying an unknown explosive device was discovered by an airport employee” at the airport, police said. The airport in eastern Germany plays a key role in the transport of military goods, including by the German military and NATO allies, and also serves as a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines.
Video footage from a local news agency showed the bomb disposal robot near an Antonov plane painted with the Ukrainian colours yellow and blue and with the words “Be Brave Like Kherson” written on the side, a reference to a Ukrainian region battered by Russian strikes. Bild daily reported that the plane that collided with an unknown object mid-air was a DHL cargo aircraft that was hit about 6km away, sustaining minor damage on the nose that was discovered when it later landed safely at Hanover airport. German police first reported that a security-related incident had temporarily halted flights to the airport. “Shortly before midnight, an unidentified flying object was sighted near Leipzig-Halle Airport, prompting the diversion of several aircraft – including a passenger plane – to other airports”, they said.
A passenger plane from Mallorca as well as several cargo planes heading there had to be sent to other locations. “In addition, an object was detected near the southern runway, which was initially examined by the federal police, a process that involved the deployment of an explosives disposal robot,” police said, without saying whether it was detonated. Regular traffic at the airport resumed in the early hours of Wednesday but only on the northern runway, while investigators looked for clues on the southern runway. Germany and other European countries have repeatedly observed drones flying over sensitive sites such as airports, military bases and industrial plants. Authorities in Germany, one of Ukraine’s biggest military supporters, have said they suspect Russia of orchestrating many of the incidents as part of a campaign of sabotage, espionage and disinformation.
German police shared “a drone carrying an unknown explosive device was discovered by an airport employee. Shortly before midnight, an unidentified flying object was sighted near Leipzig-Halle Airport, prompting the diversion of several aircraft“
