Berlin airport briefly suspends operations over drone sighting

Travelers walk along a concourse, during a one-day strike by security control staff, at Berlin Brandenburg airport in Berlin, Germany. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg via Getty Images

BERLIN - Berlin airport had to briefly suspend takeoff and landing operations on Wednesday after a drone sighting, the latest in a series of such incidents in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

An airport spokesman told AFP operations were suspended “as a safety precaution” for around half an hour after “an unidentified flying object was seen” near a helicopter hangar used by the German army.

Police were called in to investigate the sighting, but the object was not spotted again.

Shortly after 7:10 p.m. (1810 GMT), restrictions were lifted and traffic resumed as normal, the spokesman said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has accused Russia of being behind many of the recent drone sightings at sensitive locations in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, including at airports, military bases and power plants.

In October, drones spotted over the southern city of Munich twice shuttered its airport, grounding thousands of passengers after their flights were cancelled or rerouted.