Drone interrupts flight operations at Berlin Airport for two hours

Published connected 01/11/2025 - 12:55 GMT+1 •Updated 15:08

Flight operations astatine Berlin's Brandenburg Airport, coded 'BER', were interrupted for astir 2 hours precocious connected Friday owed to a drone sighting successful its airspace. This was confirmed to German media outlets by a spokesperson for nan airport.

A witnesser had reported a drone astatine astir 8 p.m. section time. The constabulary past deployed respective emergency services and a helicopter. The bluish runway was initially closed. According to nan Brandenburg police, a patrol car unit besides confirmed nan sighting. The way of nan unidentified craft later disappeared.

Following further tip-offs, nan Federal Aviation Office besides became progressive successful nan investigation. The constabulary chopper remained successful cognition until precocious successful nan evening.

In neighbouring Belgium, respective drones were besides observed complete nan Kleine Brogel aerial base, which will beryllium location to nan precocious acquired US-made F-35 combatant jets, prompting an investigation.

Several craft diverted

All formation operations astatine BER were suspended betwixt 8 p.m. until soon earlier 10 pm. Several arriving craft had to beryllium diverted; 4 landed successful Dresden, 4 successful Leipzig and 3 others successful Hamburg.

The flights affected were arriving from celebrated destinations for illustration Stockholm, Antalya and Helsinki.

Berlin Airport received typical authorisation for take-offs and landings successful bid to woody pinch nan backlog. Aircraft were allowed to return disconnected until astir 1 americium and onshore until 4 am. This is an objection to nan normal prohibition connected nighttime flights betwixt midnight and 5 am.

"Airport operations started arsenic normal this morning," said a spokesperson for nan airdrome to German media outlets connected Saturday. "There are nary longer immoderate restrictions for travellers," they added.

'Wake-up telephone successful position of information policy'

The airdrome relation ADV called for consequences for Friday evening's violation. The closure of nan capital's airdrome for respective hours was a "wake-up telephone successful position of information policy", said ADV Managing Director Ralph Beisel.

"When take-offs and landings are stopped and galore craft person to beryllium diverted to different airports, it is not only formation operations that travel to a standstill, rider assurance successful nan information of aerial postulation besides suffers."

Beisel emphasised that nan authorities must importantly amended drone discovery and defence.

"Airports must not beryllium near unsocial here. Drone discovery and defence are sovereign tasks of nan authorities and must beryllium tackled comprehensively and consistently," he noted.

Not an isolated lawsuit astatine BER

Drone overflights are nary longer a rarity successful German airspace. According to German Air Traffic Control (DFS), 5 obstructions caused by drones person already been recorded astatine Berlin Airport this year. In 2023, location were complete 15, and 20 successful 2022.

DFS has observed a full of 144 incidents passim Germany truthful acold this year, 35 of which were successful nan vicinity of Frankfurt Airport alone.

The unidentified drones are sighted peculiarly often complete airports, but besides complete subject installations and carrier routes. It is not yet clear really galore of these incidents are nan consequence of targeted espionage.

The mostly of observations are made by pilots aliases discovered by aerial postulation power officers. Around 90 per cent of nan reported incidents hap successful nan vicinity of larger airports, said nan DFS successful a recent interview pinch Euronews.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, of nan Christian Social Union statement (CSU), announced plans to velocity up drone defence passim nan country.

The purpose is to excavation expertise betwixt nan national and authorities governments, create caller defence technologies and much intimately interlink constabulary and subject systems.