Drone attack disrupts Leipzig/Halle Airport, Germany opens terrorism probe

A drone carrying what German authorities described as an “unknown explosive device” was spotted in the cargo operations area at Leipzig/Halle Airport, setting off a bomb-disposal response and grounding traffic at one of eastern Germany’s busiest freight hubs.

Police deployed a bomb-disposal robot and defused the device, with the detonator removed from the object. At the same time, German police said a second unidentified flying object struck a cargo aircraft near the airport. The plane later landed safely in Hanover with only minor damage.

The incident unfolded overnight at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Saxony, with flights suspended and runway operations disrupted for several hours from around midnight. The aircraft involved was described in some reports as a Ukrainian cargo plane, including an Antonov An-124 operated by a Ukrainian carrier. Lufthansa subsidiary DHL Air Transport was also affected by the broader disruption at the airport, which serves as a major logistics base for DHL.

German officials said the episode marked a “new quality” of danger, and authorities opened a terrorism probe into the event. Some reports said investigators suspected possible Russian involvement, but no culprit had been confirmed in the available reporting.

The episode landed amid growing European concern about drones near aviation infrastructure, especially after a string of recent airport disruptions in Germany. At Leipzig/Halle, the immediate threat was contained, but the sequence of events exposed how quickly a small airborne object could reach a secured cargo area, force the use of a bomb robot, and interrupt operations at a strategic freight airport that handles major international logistics.