German police deployed a bomb disposal robot after a drone carrying explosives was found near a runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport, forcing several flights to be diverted and triggering a counter-terrorism investigation.
The discovery was made overnight at the major cargo hub in eastern Germany. Bomb experts and a remote-controlled robot examined the drone, which was found close to a Ukrainian cargo jet in a restricted part of the airfield, and removed a detonator from the device. The area around the runway was sealed off while the operation was under way, according to police. No details were given about the type of explosive involved or how the drone reached the airfield.
A DHL cargo plane that had been forced to abort its landing at Leipzig because of the drone alert then collided with an unknown object in midair. The aircraft later landed safely at an alternative location, officials said. The circumstances of that collision are now part of a wider inquiry into what happened in the airspace above the airport.
State prosecutors in Germany, including units that specialise in extremism and terrorism prevention, have taken over the investigation. The handover to specialised prosecution units reflects the seriousness with which German authorities are treating the incident, in which an explosives-laden drone was found within the perimeter of one of Europe's busiest cargo airports.
DHL Group chief executive Tobias Meyer said the logistics company was studying the overnight incident, which also involved an object striking one of its planes near Leipzig. «We've got plans for cases like this, and we'll try to make sure that the influence on our customers will be as low as possible,» Meyer said during a quarterly results call earlier in the day, as reported by Reuters.
Leipzig/Halle Airport is one of the largest airfreight hubs in Europe, serving as a base for DHL and numerous other cargo carriers. The disruption caused delays and cancellations overnight, with several flights diverted to other airports while authorities worked to secure the scene and establish exactly what had happened. The incident also disrupted freight operations, and the airport authorities worked to restore normal service as quickly as possible.
The case has drawn fresh attention to the security risks that drones pose to civil aviation, particularly at cargo hubs where large aircraft operate around the clock. Commercially available drones have increasingly been used to carry small explosive payloads, and the deployment of specialist bomb disposal equipment at a major airport underlines the threat such devices can present to critical infrastructure.
Investigators are examining whether the drone was deliberately flown into the airport area and whether it had any connection to the object that struck the DHL aircraft. No group has claimed responsibility, and no arrests have been reported. Authorities have given no indication of a motive or of any specific target, and the investigation is continuing.
