Munich Airport experienced major disruptions Thursday night as police dealt with the unidentified drone operators spotted in the area. The airport closed two hours earlier than its scheduled midnight to 05:00 curfew, leading to the suspension of all departing flights. This last minute and unforeseen closure alone grounded at least 17 flights, stranding about 2,800 passengers.
The drone activity was first detected at 21:30 local time (19:30 GMT), prompting airport officials to alert local authorities. Federal air traffic control swung into action, rerouting incoming flights. Instead, they diverted aircraft that were booked to land in Munich to alternative airports such as Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt.
To manage the situation, Munich Airport set up camp beds and provided blankets, drinks, and snacks for stranded passengers overnight. These disturbances were all occurring at the same time as the city’s annual Oktoberfest celebration. This much-anticipated annual event is going strong now and will continue through October 5. This was not the first time the festival experienced a half-day closure earlier that week due to a bomb scare.
In all, nineteen Lufthansa flights were canceled or rerouted due to the airport’s sudden closure. In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for Lufthansa admitted that the ongoing situation had affected their flight operations.
“Nineteen Lufthansa flights were affected, either cancelled or re-routed, because of the airport suspension.” – Lufthansa spokesperson
As night fell, thousands of passengers were still stranded at Munich Airport, hoping to hear whether they could continue with their travel plans. The airport finally got back to its regular flight schedule on Friday morning, taking a little pressure off those trapped between the airport and the open seas.
To make the police case worse, police announced drone sightings in Düren, a medium size town near Munich. Then, speculation about international affairs took over, particularly once Russian President Vladimir Putin provided his take on drone strikes on Russian territory. Shortly thereafter, officials were forced to admit that these incidents were unrelated to the airport standoff.
“I won’t do it again. I won’t do it again – not to France or Denmark or Copenhagen.” – Vladimir Putin
These decisive steps by Munich Airport and local authorities are a stark reminder that during dark times, passenger safety must always come first. The disruptions made travel severely uncomfortable for travelers. With those operations now back to normal, passengers are once again able to continue their journeys.