Drone with Explosives Found Near Ukrainian Plane at Leipzig Airport; Another Aircraft Collides With Unknown Object Mid-Air

A security alert was raised at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany overnight on Wednesday: shortly before midnight, a drone carrying an unidentified substance was discovered on airport grounds. According to the German tabloid Bild, the substance contained a detonator, leading investigators to treat the find as a possible explosive device. The drone was found in close proximity to a Ukrainian An cargo aircraft.

A police bomb disposal unit was called to the scene to carry out a controlled detonation. Air traffic at the airport was immediately suspended, with arriving and departing flights diverted elsewhere.

Mid-Air Collision

One of the cargo planes was forced to abort its landing approach and climb back to altitude. According to Bild, roughly six kilometers from the airport, at an altitude of about 400 meters, the aircraft struck an object that has not yet been identified. The plane subsequently landed in Hanover, where minor damage was found on its nose section.

Police are investigating the incident as a matter of national security. According to the Leipziger Volkszeitung, the drone was first spotted near the airport shortly before midnight, and following that report, a drone was then found on airport grounds near the Ukrainian cargo plane. The outlet notes, however, that it has not been definitively confirmed whether this was the same drone. Efforts to locate the drone's operator have so far been unsuccessful.

Airport Operations Resume

According to Bild, air traffic in Leipzig was suspended until approximately 2 a.m. The airport's southern runway remained closed and had still not reopened by the morning.

Nevertheless, police say that as of Wednesday morning, flight operations at the airport are proceeding without major disruptions, and air traffic continues to operate. Authorities stated that the situation poses no danger to local residents.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz