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Explosive drone at Leipzig/Halle
A drone carrying an explosive device was found near Ukrainian cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany, prompting a bomb disposal robot deployment and disruption to flights, according to Saxony police and state police in Saxony.
“Flights on the northern runway resumed at 01:55 (23:55 GMT on Tuesday).”
The incident unfolded after an employee spotted the device in a secure area of the cargo flight operations near the airport’s south runway overnight, and police later removed the detonator and carried out a controlled explosion.
Germany’s interior minister said the incidents showed a "new level of threat," while CNN reported that an unidentified flying object also hit a cargo plane after the aircraft aborted its landing due to the runway being closed.
Flights on the northern runway resumed at 01:55 (23:55 GMT on Tuesday), while the southern runway remained closed, and CNN said the plane sustained minor damage but landed safely at Hannover airport instead.
Officials trade blame
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters that "We are talking about a professional, hybrid threat scenario" and suggested the investigation may point to a possible "competition" that "may also involve foreign powers."
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev directly pointed to Moscow, saying "Who else could it be but Russia?" as German authorities launched an investigation involving counter-terrorism police and state prosecutors.
CNN said German state prosecutors took over the investigation alongside the Central Office for Extremism Saxony (ZESA) and officers from the Police Terrorism and Extremism Defense Center (PTAZ), while Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster described the overnight developments as a "very serious security incident."
El Mundo added that Conservative MP Marc Henrichmann, chairman of the Bundestag committee that oversees German intelligence services, said all signs point to a "deliberate attempt to hit an important company for Ukraine."
What happens next
Authorities said the drone was discovered near Leipzig/Halle Airport’s south runway close to Ukrainian cargo airline Antonov Airlines, and the airport is described as a major hub for DHL and a base for Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines transport aircraft.
“Police from the German state of Saxony confirmed that the drone was “carrying an unknown explosive device””
The Guardian reported that police confirmed the drone was "carrying an unknown explosive device" discovered by an employee in the "secure cargo flight operations area" near the airport’s southern runway, while also noting that a second unidentified flying object collided with a DHL cargo plane after the first incident.
The Guardian said a local newspaper, Leipziger Volkszeitung, reported police discovered as much as 800g of explosive, and it quoted explosives expert Trevor Lawrence saying "aeroplane bodies are ridiculously thin, often only 3mm aluminium."
With the investigation ongoing and the southern runway remaining closed into Wednesday, the episode added to Germany’s heightened alert after unauthorized drone activity near military bases, airports, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies, and police warned of a potential Russian involvement that Moscow has denied.
