An explosive drone with a detonator has been found at Germany’s Leipzig/Halle Airport, where Ukrainian aircraft were present.
Authorities discovered the drone near the south runway early Wednesday morning. The incident caused several flights, including one passenger airplane, to be diverted to other airports in the region overnight. An anti-explosives robot used by police was dispatched to defuse the device.
There have been drone sightings at European airports in the past, but none have been armed with explosives before. German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the explosive drone poses a “new quality of danger” to the nation’s security.
“Drone sightings, drone threats including in a hybrid context, are something we know from the past,” he told reporters. “That a drone armed with explosives is at an airport is a new threat scenario.”
The investigation seeks to determine the origin of the drone and who was responsible for the incident.
