Flight operations at Leipzig/Halle Airport were disrupted late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, reportedly due to a drone carrying a detonator. According to a media report, investigators discovered a drone on the apron that had a package with a detonator attached. Authorities classified this item as a potential explosive device. The drone was reportedly located in the immediate vicinity of a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft. Consequently, a remotely controlled disarming robot was deployed.
Prior to the incident, the airport had already seen the sighting of a drone, which prompted a major response involving both the Federal Police and the Saxon State Police.
The disruption caused significant operational issues. While traffic on the North runway was able to resume after about two hours, the South runway remained closed initially. This required passenger flights and several cargo aircraft to be diverted. The DHL hub’s freight traffic was heavily hindered starting around midnight, leading to multiple hours of delays for scheduled flights. The original report suggested that the detonation itself was unclear at first.
