Flights resume at Berlin airport after drone scare

BERLIN – Flights were suspended for almost two hours at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Oct 31 due to sightings of unidentified drones, the latest in a series of similar scares across Europe, an airport spokesman told AFP.

Take-offs and landings were suspended between 8:08pm and 9:58pm local time (4:58am on Nov 1, Singapore time) and a “whole series of flights” were diverted to other German cities during the closure, the spokesman said.

Berlin’s ban on night flights was also relaxed to mitigate the impact on flight operations, he added.

“We assume that the danger has been averted for the time being,” the spokesman said.

The police in Brandenburg state confirmed they had received a report of a drone sighting and said a patrol car and a helicopter had been deployed.

The patrol car had spotted a drone but its pilot had not been identified, a spokesman said.

German leaders have repeatedly raised the alarm about a growing drone threat after a series of sightings of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at airports as well as sensitive military sites this year.

Airports in Denmark, Norway and Poland have also recently suspended flights due to unidentified drones, while Romania and Estonia have pointed the finger at Russia, which has brushed off the allegations.

Germany – a major Nato backer of Ukraine in its fight against Russia – has similarly blamed Moscow.

Multiple UAV sightings have been reported in recent months over military bases, industrial sites and other critical infrastructure in Germany.

In early October, drones spotted over the southern city of Munich twice shut down the city’s airport, grounding thousands of passengers after their flights were cancelled or re-routed.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called for Germany to “find new responses to this hybrid threat” – including greater capabilities to detect, assess and potentially shoot down drones. AFP