Drone with explosives found at German airport, official sees 'new quality' of threat
German authorities are investigating after a drone carrying explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The incident, which caused flight diversions and runway closures, is being described by officials as a new quality of security threat.
Why it matters
The use of weaponized drones at major civilian infrastructure represents a significant escalation in security risks for global aviation.
BERLIN — A drone with explosives was found at Germany's Leipzig/Halle Airport and the device was defused, authorities said Wednesday, in an incident that the country's top security official said posed a "new quality of danger."
Both the runways at the major freight hub were closed and several flights, including one passenger plane, were diverted to other airports after a flying object was sighted nearby shortly before midnight Tuesday. An anti-explosives robot was deployed to check an object near the south runway.
Regional police and prosecutors later said an airport employee discovered a drone near the airport's south runway with "an unknown explosive device," and the object was examined by police. They removed its detonator.
That the drone was carrying explosives "is a new quality of danger," German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters at the airport after interrupting his vacation to travel to the scene.
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