Unidentified object triggers flight diversions at Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport

Berlin: Flights to an airport in eastern Germany had to be diverted overnight after a "security-related incident" involving at least one unidentified object, police said Wednesday.

A passenger plane from Mallorca as well as several cargo planes destined for Leipzig-Halle airport had to be sent to other locations after a flying object was spotted near the airport around 11:40 pm (2140 GMT) on Tuesday.

An object was then found near the south runway and a bomb disposal robot was sent to the site, police said.

They could not confirm whether it detonated the object or whether it was the same one spotted previously, but a police spokesman told AFP the incident "does not pose any danger for the public".

Regular traffic at the airport resumed in the early hours of Wednesday but only on the north runway, while investigators looked for clues on the southern runway.

Germany and other European countries have repeatedly observed instances of drones flying over sensitive sites such as airports, military bases and power plants.

Authorities in Germany, one of Ukraine's biggest military supporters, have said they suspect Russia of orchestrating many of the incidents as part of a campaign of espionage, sabotage and disinformation.

In July 2024, a parcel burst into flames on the ground at Leipzig airport before it could be loaded onto a DHL cargo plane, part of a suspected Moscow-linked arson sabotage plot.

Russia has denied being behind any such incidents.

Last year, a Chinese national was convicted of passing on information about flight schedules and cargo movements at Leipzig-Halle airport to a man spying for Beijing.