Suspected drone sightings disrupt flights at Nuremberg Airport

Mixed · 2Flight operations at Nuremberg Airport in Germany were suspended on Tuesday 13 October. 1 2 Left · 2In a statement on its website, the airport described the cause as an aviation emergency, did not give a reason and said more information would follow. 3 2 Centre · 1Anadolu Agency reported that the disruption began early on Tuesday after multiple pilots reported a suspected drone near the airfield; police said the reports came from three pilots during takeoffs and landings between roughly 2 am and 4 am local time. 4

Right · 1Reuters, carried by The Straits Times, cited Bild as reporting that a possible drone sighting had disrupted air traffic overnight, with three pilots independently reporting an object during takeoff or landing. 1 Centre · 1Border police, airport management and German air traffic control launched a security sweep and halted takeoffs and landings as a precaution. 4 Centre · 1Police spokesman Michael Petzold said the measures, which included a police helicopter, did not verify the reported object, and the Nuremberg border police inspectorate is investigating further. 4

Right · 1Police also wrote on X that they had received a report of an "unclear air emergency", that the aircraft had meanwhile landed safely in Nuremberg, and that investigations into the cause were under way. 1 Centre · 1Anadolu placed the incident amid heightened concern in Germany over drones near airports and critical infrastructure, recalling that in August an explosives-laden drone was found at Leipzig/Halle Airport close to Ukrainian cargo aircraft; German officials accused Russia of attempting the attack, and Moscow denied it. 4 Centre · 1The cause remains unconfirmed: the drone is unverified, and the reports do not say how long flights were suspended or how many were delayed or diverted. 4