Munich airport resumes flights after drone sightings; passengers stranded
Germany’s Munich airport has resumed operations after drone sightings led to the cancellation of 17 flights, the diversion of 15 others and the stranding of some 3,000 passengers.
Flights had restarted by early Friday, with flight tracking websites showing planes departing the airport at about 5:50am (03:50 GMT).
A spokesperson for German flag carrier Lufthansa said “flight operations have since resumed according to schedule”.
At least 19 Lufthansa flights were affected, either cancelled or re-routed, because of the airport suspension, the spokesperson added.
Earlier, the airport said that drone sightings were first reported by German air traffic control at 10:18pm local time [20:18 GMT] on Thursday, leading initially to a restriction on flights, which was then upgraded to a full suspension.
Germany’s DPA news agency said police reported that several people had seen a drone near the airport, with later sightings of a drone over the airport grounds.
Police helicopters were deployed, but “no information is available on the type and number of drones”, a police spokesperson told DPA.
Airline and airport staff set up camp beds and provided blankets and food to assist the almost 3,000 passengers affected by the flight cancellations and diversions, the airport said.
“When a drone is sighted, the safety of travellers is the top priority,” it added.
“It is important to emphasise that the detection and defence against drones are sovereign tasks and are the responsibility of the federal and state police,” it said.
Post a Comment