Drone carrying explosives found at German airport, police say
A drone carrying explosives was found near Ukrainian cargo planes at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany, police say.
The device was spotted overnight by an airport employee close to Antonov planes from Ukraine. Saxony police sent a special robot to the tarmac to remove the detonator. They later carried out a controlled explosion. The northern runway reopened at 01:55, while the southern runway stayed closed.
A second unidentified object also hit a cargo aircraft near the same airport. The plane landed in Hanover with only minor damage. Authorities have not released more details about that incident.
German airports have been on high alert after months of unauthorised drone flights over military bases, airports, energy terminals, seaports and logistics firms. Police have warned the flights could be organised by Russian agents. Leipzig/Halle is a key site because it is used by the German military and Nato allies to move military goods, hosts Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines, and is a major hub for DHL.
Officials called it a serious escalation. Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster described it as a “very serious security incident.” Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev told Welt TV: “Who else could it be but Russia?” Russia has not commented. Security expert Peter R Neumann said on X that the drone war has now reached Germany and exposed a long-known weakness.
The airport has seen similar suspicions before. In July 2024 a parcel caught fire at Leipzig/Halle before it could be loaded onto a DHL plane. Authorities linked it to a series of parcel fires in the UK and EU that used explosive devices hidden in vibrating massage pillows with electronic timers. Russia denied involvement. Last year a Chinese woman was also convicted for passing flight and cargo details from the airport to a Beijing spy.