Munich Airport closed drones: Major European airport forced to shut for second time after drone sightings - departure flights cancelled and delayed

Munich airport was forced to halt operations for the second day in a row on Friday over drone sightings, with dozens of flights and more than 6,000 passengers affected. Airports in Denmark, Norway and Poland have recently suspended flights due to unidentified drones, while Romania and Estonia have pointed the finger at Russia, which has brushed off the allegations.

Munich airport said in a statement that on Friday “from 9.30pm air traffic was restricted and then cancelled due to drone sightings”, meaning 23 incoming flights were diverted and 12 bound for Munich were cancelled. Forty-six departures from the airport had to be cancelled or delayed until Saturday, with a total of 6,500 passengers affected.

A police spokesman told AFP that there were “two simultaneous confirmed drone sightings by police patrols just before 11pm around the north and south runways”. “The drones immediately moved away, before they could be identified,” he added.

The airport said: “As on the previous night, the airport, in collaboration with the airlines, promptly provided supplies for passengers in the terminals. Camp beds were set up, along with blankets, drinks, and snacks”.

The airport initially said service would resume as normal at 5am on Saturday but later pushed back the start of operations till 7am. Flights are delayed today.

Listed below are the affected departures.

• 11:15 Pegasus to Antalya
• 11:25 Aer Lingus to Dublin
• 11:30 Lufthansa to Dusseldorf - cancelled
• 11:35 Lufthansa to Poznan
• 11:40 Lufthansa to Ljubljana
• 11:50 Air Dolomiti to Venice - cancelled
• 12:10 Condor to Olbia
• 12:45 Lufthansa to Barcelona - cancelled
• 13:25 Lufthansa to Amsterdam - cancelled
• 13:55 Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong
• 13:55 TUI to Heraklion
• 14:40 Lufthansa to Amsterdam - cancelled
• 15:00 Lufthansa to Frankfurt - cancelled
• 18:10 Lufthansa to Lyon - cancelled