Munich airport temporarily closed due to unknown drones
On the eve of the evening, Munich Airport was temporarily closed due to the appearance of unknown drones.
Several people, including security personnel and airport employees, reported "suspicious sightings." The incident occurred around 10 p.m. local time and lasted approximately half an hour, then repeated around 11 p.m.
The airport administration noted that the situation had little impact on passengers and flight schedules. Three planes were temporarily diverted—two of them eventually landed in Munich, while one flight had to be canceled.
After conducting a search, the federal police did not find any drones or suspicious individuals in the area.
Around midnight on October 18, the airport resumed operations, and by the morning of the following day, air traffic had returned to normal.
What preceded it?
Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that systematic violations of EU airspace by Russian drones are part of the hybrid war that Russia is waging against Europe.
In September 2025, Russia significantly intensified its hybrid attacks on European countries, particularly NATO members, using drones and military aircraft to violate their airspace.
On the afternoon of September 7, a Russian helicopter violated Estonia's airspace. The Estonian Defense Forces General Staff reported that a Mi-8 helicopter entered the country's airspace without permission in the vicinity of Vaindloo Island. The helicopter did not have a flight plan, and its transponder was turned off.
On September 10, about 20 Russian drones invaded Polish airspace. Some of them were shot down by NATO fighter jets.
A Russian drone penetrated 10 km into Romanian airspace, remaining there for about 50 minutes. The incident occurred on September 13.
On the night of September 17, the Polish Border Guard recorded increased activity by Belarusian and Russian drones attempting to violate Polish airspace.
Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace for 12 minutes on September 19.
Twice, on September 23 and 26, Copenhagen Airport suspended operations due to the detection of large drones nearby. The airport is also used as an air base for the Danish Air Force.
In addition, unknown drones were spotted in the evening and at night on September 24-25. A group of drones flew in areas where Danish military facilities are located.
During flights of unknown drones over airports and military facilities in Denmark, a Russian Navy ship was spotted at sea near the country.
On the night of September 25-26, two unidentified drones were spotted over the Karlskrona archipelago in Sweden. The main base of the Swedish Navy is located there.
An unidentified drone was also spotted above a hydroelectric power station near Rovaniemi in Finland.
On Saturday afternoon, September 27, Schiphol, the main airport in the Netherlands, closed its runway for about 45 minutes after a drone was spotted there.
