Munich airport reopens after drone sightings halt flights

Germany's Munich airport reopened on 3 October after shutting overnight due to drone sightings that forced the cancellation or diversion of dozens of flights and heightened concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure in Europe.

As operations resumed early on Friday morning, a Reuters witness saw passengers checking in for a flight to Varna in Bulgaria, and the departure board showed only a few flights had been cancelled. 

The airport said several drone sightings late on Thursday evening had forced air traffic control to suspend operations, leading to the cancellation of 17 flights and disrupting travel for nearly 3,000 passengers, who were provided with camp beds, blankets and food.

Another 15 arriving flights were diverted to other cities including Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt, the airport said.

The drones were sighted in the late evening above the airport, a police spokesman told newspaper Bild. But because it was dark, the size and types of the drones could not be determined, he added.

The disruption in Munich is the latest in a string of similar drone incidents that have rattled European aviation and raised broader security concerns, coming after airspace intrusions temporarily shut airports in Denmark and Norway last week.

The incidents prompted a sharp response from European Union leaders, who backed plans at a summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday to bolster the bloc's defences with anti-drone measures.

"Europe must be able to defend itself," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said after the meeting.

Authorities have not publicly blamed a specific actor for the Munich drone incident, but some European officials have suggested Russia is behind other recent airspace violations.

Russia has previously denied involvement in the drone activity. 

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