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Germany shuts down Munich Airport due to drone sightings as Bavaria pushes for tougher response

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Airplanes at Munich Airport in Bavaria, Germany in September 2025.
17 September 2025, Bavaria, Munich: General view of Munich Airport in Bavaria, Germany, on Sept. 17 2025. (Matthias Balk/dpa via Getty Images)

Editor's note: This item has been updated with Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder's statement.

Germany's Munich Airport temporarily suspended operations the evening of Oct. 2 due to suspicious drone sightings in the area, airport officials said.

The closure follows a series of mysterious drone sightings in European airspace in recent days, including an incident in northern Germany on Sept. 26.

Several drone sightings were reported late in the evening of Oct. 2, prompting German air traffic control to restrict and then suspend flight operations shortly after 10 p.m. local time, Munich Airport said in a statement.

The closure grounded 17 flights, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers. Fifteen arriving flights were also rerouted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt.

The statement did not disclose how many drones were seen in the area.

After the incident, Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Soder called for German police to be authorized to shoot down unidentified drones, saying his state is already drafting legislation to allow it.

"The drone incidents demonstrate the immense pressure. From now on, the rule must be: shoot down drones instead of waiting. And do so consistently," Soder told Bild.

"Our police must be able to shoot down drones immediately."

Similar drone sightings in recent weeks have disrupted operations at major transportation hubs, including Oslo Airport in Norway and Copenhagen Airport in Denmark, both of which were temporarily shut down as a precaution.

An unidentified drone was also observed flying over the Norwegian Equinor-operated Sleipner gas field in the North Sea on Sept. 29. A day later, another drone was recorded flying over Bronnoysund Airport in Norway.

‘I won’t do it anymore’ — Putin jokes, dismissing European drone sightings
Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, on Oct. 2, President Vladimir Putin mocked European concern over drone sightings, denied stationing troops on the Finnish border, and dismissed NATO as a “paper tiger.”

Drones have also been previously spotted in Germany. German police on Sept. 29 reported sightings of large quadcopters near the Rostock seaport. Authorities in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein also reported multiple drone sightings overnight on Sept. 26.

The German outlet Der Spiegel reported on Oct. 1 that those drones may have been surveilling critical infrastructure.

The drone sightings follow a rash of high-profile Russian airspace violations that have heightened tensions between Moscow and NATO.

In early September, Polish forces shot down several Russian drones that had entered their airspace during a mass attack against Ukraine. A Russian drone also breached Romanian territory a few days later, though Bucharest opted not to engage it.

Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets also briefly entered Estonian airspace on Sept. 19, remaining there for 12 minutes before being intercepted by NATO forces.

Europe split on ‘drone wall’ project, plan to battle Russia’s attacks remains elusive
The European Commission’s plan of creating a “drone wall” on the union’s eastern border has met a tough reality in Copenhagen — opposition from EU member states without a border with Russia. “Leaders broadly supported initial flagship projects that will strengthen Europe’s security, including the European Drone Wall and the Eastern Flank Watch,” European Council President António Costa said at a press conference after the informal EU Council meeting in Denmark. Yet, member states were not conv
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Abbey Fenbert

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Tim Zadorozhnyy

News Editor

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Russia attacked Kharkiv with drones on Oct. 22, damaging a kindergarten and killing one person, injuring at least six, local authorities reported.

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