Overview
- A member of airport staff discovered a drone with an explosive device in a restricted cargo area late Tuesday night, prompting authorities to suspend flights for about two hours and divert several aircraft.
- Federal police bomb-disposal specialists used a robot to inspect the device and remove its detonator, and officials report there were no casualties.
- During the closure a cargo plane that aborted its approach struck an unidentified object in midair and later landed in Hannover with minor frontal damage.
- Dresden prosecutors, the Saxony state criminal police (LKA) and the federal extremism office ZESA have taken over the investigation and deployed specialised antiterror and forensics units, while NATO says it is aware of the incident.
- Leipzig/Halle is a major European cargo hub that hosts Antonov transport flights and has a recent record of sabotage and espionage worries, which officials say makes the episode a new, more professional form of hybrid threat with potential security and logistical consequences.