Explosive drone forces shutdown at major German airport serving NATO, Ukraine flights

A drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian plane at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport late Tuesday, prompting officials to warn the incident represented “a new quality of danger,” authorities said Wednesday.

The discovery temporarily shut down both runways at the major European freight hub and forced several flights to divert to other airports, according to The Associated Press.

Another flying object was spotted nearby shortly before midnight and several flights, including one passenger plane, were then diverted to other airports.

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German police launched a large response and opened an investigation into the two incidents.

Police said an airport worker found the first explosive drone near the airport’s south runway with “an unknown explosive device.”

An explosives-disposal robot was deployed to examine the device before authorities removed its detonator.

The plane, bearing the blue-and-yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag, displayed the English-language slogan, “Be Brave Like Kherson,” a tribute to the southern Ukrainian region, Deutsche Welle reported.

In the second incident, an unidentified flying object collided with a cargo aircraft that had aborted its landing at Leipzig/Halle Airport because of the runway closure.

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The aircraft diverted to Hannover Airport, about 125 miles north-west of Leipzig, where officials found minor damage, according to The Associated Press.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the discovery of the first drone marked a significant escalation.

“Drone sightings, drone threats, including in a hybrid context, are something we know from the past,” he said. “That a drone armed with explosives is at an airport is a new threat scenario.”

Dobrindt also described the incident as “a hybrid attack scenario.”

He said questions about the type of explosives used, the drone’s origin and who was responsible remained under investigation.

“All the speculation that is currently going on about the explosives, the construction, the question of the drone, the origin and, of course, who is behind it, is now part of the investigation,” Dobrindt said.

“What is happening now also shows that the assessment made months ago — that we are dealing with a high level of danger — was justified,” Dobrindt added.

In June, Dobrindt opened Germany’s Joint Centre for Countering Hybrid Threats, which brings together federal and state security agencies to address threats including espionage, sabotage and disinformation.

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Leipzig/Halle Airport is a major European cargo hub, and Ukrainian Antonov transport aircraft are based there.

NATO said it was aware of the incidents but referred questions to German authorities.

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Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, suggested Moscow may have been behind the incident, telling Welt TV on Wednesday, “Who else could it be but Russia?” according to reports.

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In 2024, an incendiary device ignited at a logistics center at Leipzig/Halle Airport, setting fire to a freight container in an incident Western security officials suspect was part of a Russian intelligence sabotage operation.