BERLIN: Germany’s Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, said he would raise the matter of anti-drone defenses at a meeting of European interior ministers on Saturday, which had initially been billed as a migration summit.
Speaking in Saarbruecken, western Germany, the morning after drone sightings forced the closure of Munich airport for several hours, Dobrindt added that more research was needed on anti-drone defenses.
“At the meeting of European interior ministers this weekend in Munich, we will, in addition to the migration issues, also explicitly address the situation of drones and the threat posed by drones,” he said. Drone sightings at Germany’s Munich airport led to the cancelation and diversion of dozens of flights, leaving nearly 3,000 passengers stranded and leading politicians to promise harsh new measures allowing for drones to be shot down.
The Munich airport disruption was the latest in a series of similar incidents that have rattled European aviation, raising concerns about deniable hybrid attacks on Ukraine’s European allies, possibly directed by Russia. The Kremlin has indeed denied any involvement in the incidents.
The airport said several drone sightings late on Thursday evening had forced air traffic control to suspend operations, leading to the cancelation of 17 flights and disrupting travel for nearly 3,000 passengers, who were provided with camp beds, blankets, and food. Another 15 arriving flights were diverted around the region.
