ALBAWABA – Unidentified drones flew into Munich International Airport's airspace, forcing it to close overnight. This caused flights to be delayed and thousands of passengers to be stuck. It was the latest in a series of drone incidents in Europe.
Police said they saw the drones late Thursday night, but they couldn't tell what they were because it was too dark. The closure lasted for several hours, which caused 17 flights to be canceled and 15 others to be rerouted to airports in Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Vienna, and Nuremberg. Around 3,000 people were affected, and hundreds of them spent the night on camp beds that were set up in the terminal.
The problems happened at the same time as increased security in Munich, where Oktoberfest celebrations were briefly stopped after explosives were found in a residential building. The combination of traditional security threats and drone attacks has made people in Germany more worried.
Recently, similar drone activity closed airports in Denmark and Norway, which raises concerns about Europe's ability to keep its skies safe.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at a summit in Copenhagen this week that Europe "must be able to defend itself." Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that Russia was testing Europe's defenses and trying to divide it, but Moscow denied any involvement. Vladimir Putin, the president, sarcastically said that he would "no longer send drones over Denmark."
The Munich incident shows how drones are being used in hybrid conflict, making it hard to tell the difference between security threats and geopolitical pressure. This is putting Europe's air travel and public trust in the middle.
