Drone chaos: Munich Airport halts flights, thousands of passengers hit

Munich Airport in Germany was forced to close temporarily on Thursday night after multiple drone sightings, CNN reported.

The closure began shortly after 10 pm local time, grounding 17 departing flights and affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, according to an airport statement. Another 15 arriving flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Frankfurt and Vienna.

A call handler told CNN that “some flights are still waiting to take off, others have been canceled,” but confirmed the situation was under control. The airport was expected to reopen at 5am (local time).

The surge in drone sightings has raised alarms across the continent. NATO members Poland and Romania have reported alleged Russian drone incursions, while Estonia has accused Russian fighter jets of violating its airspace. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that although the source of the drones remains unclear, Russia is “the primary threat” to Europe’s security — a claim denied by the Kremlin.

The drone incident comes as Munich remains tense. Earlier this week, Oktoberfest was temporarily closed following a bomb threat at the festival grounds, where police also discovered a body near a nearby lake.

The annual celebration, which attracted 6.7 million visitors last year, typically runs daily from 10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.