dronexl.co Haye Kestelooo october 2, 2025
Drone sightings Thursday evening forced Germany’s Munich airport to suspend operations, cancelling 17 flights and disrupting travel for nearly 3,000
Drone sightings Thursday evening forced Germany’s Munich airport to suspend operations, cancelling 17 flights and disrupting travel for nearly 3,000 passengers. The incident marks the latest in a concerning series of mysterious drone closures at major European airports—but whether these sightings represent genuine security threats or mass misidentification remains an urgent question.
The pattern echoes both recent suspected hybrid attacks in Scandinavia and last year’s New Jersey drone panic that turned out to be largely misidentified aircraft and celestial objects.
Munich Operations Suspended for Hours
German air traffic control restricted flight operations at Munich airport from 10:18 p.m. local time Thursday after multiple drone sightings, later suspending them entirely. The airport remained closed until 2:59 a.m. Friday (4:59 a.m. local time).
Another 15 arriving flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 confirmed the airport would remain closed until early Friday morning.
The first arriving flight was expected at 5:25 a.m., with the first departure scheduled for 5:50 a.m., according to the airport’s website.
European Airports on Edge After Suspected Russian Incidents
The Munich closure comes just days after a wave of drone incidents shut down multiple airports across Denmark and Norway in late September. Copenhagen Airport closed for nearly four hours on September 22 after two to three large drones were spotted in controlled airspace. Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport also briefly closed that same night.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called those incidents “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date” and suggested Russia could be behind the disruption. Danish authorities characterized the activity as a likely hybrid operation intended to unsettle the public and disrupt critical infrastructure.
Several more Danish airports—including Aalborg, Billund, and military bases—experienced similar incidents in the following days. Denmark is now considering whether to invoke NATO’s Article 4, which enables member states to request consultations over security concerns.
Russian President Vladimir Putin joked Thursday that he would not fly drones over Denmark anymore, though Moscow has denied responsibility for the incidents. Denmark has stopped short of saying definitively who is responsible, but Western officials point to a pattern of Russian drone violations of NATO airspace in Poland, Romania, and Estonia.
The Misidentification Problem: Lessons from New Jersey
While European officials investigate potential hybrid warfare, the incidents raise uncomfortable parallels to the New Jersey drone panic of late 2024—a mass sighting event that turned out to be largely misidentification of routine aircraft and celestial objects.
Between November and December 2024, thousands of “drone” reports flooded in from New Jersey and neighboring states. The phenomenon sparked widespread fear, congressional hearings, and even forced then-President-elect Donald Trump to cancel a trip to his Bedminster golf club.
Federal investigations later revealed the reality: most sightings were manned aircraft operating lawfully. A joint FBI and DHS statement in December noted: “Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities.”
TSA documents released months later showed that one of the earliest incidents—which forced a medical helicopter carrying a crash victim to divert—involved three commercial aircraft approaching nearby Solberg Airport. “The alignment of the aircraft gave the appearance to observers on the ground of them hovering in formation while they were actually moving directly at the observers,” the analysis found.
Dr. Will Austin, president of Warren County Community College and a national drone expert, reviewed numerous videos during the panic. He found that “many of the reports received involve misidentification of manned aircraft.” Even Jupiter, which was particularly bright in New Jersey’s night sky that season, was mistaken for a hovering drone.
The panic had real consequences: laser-pointing incidents at aircraft spiked to 59 in December 2024—more than the 49 incidents recorded for all of 2023, according to the FAA.
Munich Already on Edge
Munich was already placed on edge this week when its popular Oktoberfest was temporarily closed due to a bomb threat, and explosives were discovered in a residential building in the city’s north.
Whether Thursday’s drone sightings represent genuine security threats similar to the suspected Russian operations in Scandinavia, or misidentified routine aircraft like in New Jersey, remains under investigation. German authorities have not released details about what was observed or where the objects may have originated.
DroneXL’s Take
We’re watching two very different scenarios collide in dangerous ways. The Denmark and Norway incidents appear to involve sophisticated actors—large drones, coordinated timing, professional operation over multiple airports and military installations. Danish intelligence has credible reasons to suspect state-sponsored hybrid warfare, particularly given documented Russian drone violations of NATO airspace in Poland and Romania.
But the New Jersey panic showed how quickly mass hysteria can spiral when people start looking up. Once the narrative took hold, every airplane on approach, every bright planet, every hobbyist quadcopter became a “mystery drone.” Federal investigators reviewed over 5,000 reports and found essentially nothing anomalous—yet 78% of Americans still believed the government was hiding something.
Munich sits uncomfortably between these realities. Is it part of the escalating pattern of suspected Russian hybrid attacks on European infrastructure? Or is it another case of observers misidentifying routine air traffic in an atmosphere of heightened anxiety?
The distinction matters enormously. Real threats require sophisticated counter-drone systems and potentially invoke NATO collective defense mechanisms. False alarms waste resources, create dangerous situations (like those laser-pointing incidents), and damage the credibility of legitimate security concerns.
Airport authorities worldwide need better drone detection technology that can definitively distinguish between aircraft types. Equally important: they need to be transparent about what they’re actually seeing, rather than leaving information vacuums that fill with speculation and fear.
Following drone sightings late on Thursday and Friday evening and further drone sightings early on Saturday morning, the start of flight operations on 4 October 2025 was delayed. Flight operations were gradually ramped up and stabilised over the course of the afternoon.
Following drone sightings late on Thursday and Friday evening and further drone sightings early on Saturday morning, the start of flight operations on 4 October 2025 has been delayed. Flight operations were gradually ramped up and stabilised over the course of the afternoon. Passengers were asked to check the status of their flight on their airline's website before travelling to the airport. Of the more than 1,000 take-offs and landings planned for Saturday, airlines cancelled around 170 flights during the day for operational reasons.
As on previous nights, Munich Airport worked with the airlines to immediately provide for passengers in the terminals. These activities will continue on Saturday evening and into Sunday night. Numerous camp beds will again be set up, and blankets, air mattresses, drinks and snacks will be distributed. In addition, some shops, restaurants and a pharmacy in the public area will extend their opening hours and remain open throughout the night. In addition to numerous employees of the airport, airlines and service providers, numerous volunteers are also on duty.
When a drone is suspected of being sighted, the safety of travellers is the top priority. Reporting chains between air traffic control, the airport and police authorities have been established for years. It is important to emphasise that the detection and defence against drones are sovereign tasks and are the responsibility of the federal and state police.
Munich Airport (www.munich-airport.com)
October 3, 2025 (Update)
On Thursday evening (October 2), several drones were sighted in the vicinity of and on the grounds of Munich Airport. The first reports were received at around 8:30 p.m. Initially, areas around the airport, including Freising and Erding, were affected.
The state police immediately launched extensive search operations with a large number of officers in the vicinity of the airport. At the same time, the federal police immediately carried out surveillance and search operations on the airport grounds. However, it has not yet been possible to identify the perpetrator.
At around 9:05 p.m., drones were reported near the airport fence. At around 10:10 p.m., the first sighting was made on the airport grounds. As a result, flight operations were gradually suspended at 10:18 p.m. for safety reasons. The preventive closure affected both runways from 10:35 p.m. onwards. The sightings ended around midnight. According to the airport operator, there were 17 flight cancellations and 15 diversions by that time. Helicopters from the federal police and the Bavarian state police were also deployed to monitor the airspace and conduct searches.
Munich Airport, in cooperation with the airlines, immediately took care of the passengers in the terminals. Camp beds were set up, and blankets, drinks, and snacks were provided. In addition, 15 arriving flights were diverted to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna, and Frankfurt. Flight operations resumed as normal today (Friday, October 3).
Responsibilities and cooperation
Within the scope of their respective tasks, the German Air Traffic Control (DFS), the state aviation security authorities, the state police forces, and the federal police are responsible for the detection and defense against drones at commercial airports.
The measures are carried out in close coordination between all parties involved and the airport operator on the basis of jointly developed emergency plans. The local state police force is responsible for preventive policing in the vicinity of the airport, while the federal police is responsible for policing on the airport grounds. Criminal prosecution is the responsibility of the state police.
Note: Please understand that for tactical reasons, the security authorities are unable to provide any further information on the systems and measures used. Further investigations will be conducted by the Bavarian police, as they have jurisdiction in this matter.
bbc.com
Imran Rahman-JonesTechnology reporter andJoe TidyCyber correspondent, BBC World Service
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said a man in his forties was arrested in West Sussex.
A person has been arrested in connection with a cyber-attack which has caused days of disruption at several European airports including Heathrow.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said a man in his forties was arrested in West Sussex "as part of an investigation into a cyber incident impacting Collins Aerospace".
There have been hundreds of flight delays after Collins Aerospace baggage and check-in software used by several airlines failed, with some boarding passengers using pen and paper.
"Although this arrest is a positive step, the investigation into this incident is in its early stages and remains ongoing," said Paul Foster, head of the NCA's national cyber crime unit.
The man was arrested on Tuesday evening on suspicion of Computer Misuse Act offences and has been released on bail.
The BBC has seen an internal memo sent to airport staff at Heathrow about the difficulties software provider Collins Aerospace is having bringing their check-in software back online.
The US company appears to be rebuilding the system again after trying to relaunch it on Monday.
Collins Aerospace's parent company RTX Corporation told the BBC it appreciated the NCA's "ongoing assistance in this matter".
The US firm has not put a timeline on when it will be ready and is urging ground handlers and airlines to plan for at least another week of using manual workarounds.
At Heathrow, extra staff have been deployed in terminals to help passengers and check-in operators but flights are still experiencing delays.
On Monday, the EU's cyber-security agency said ransomware had been deployed in the attack.
Ransomware is often used to seriously disrupt victims' systems and a ransom is demanded in cryptocurrency to reverse the damage.
These types of attacks are an issue for organisations around the country, with organised cyber-crime gangs earning hundreds of millions of pounds from ransoms every year.
Days of disruption
The attack against US software maker Collins Aerospace was discovered on Friday night and resulted in disruption across many European airports, including in Brussels, Dublin and Berlin.
Flights were cancelled and delayed throughout the weekend, with some airports still experiencing effects of the delays into this week.
"The vast majority of flights at Heathrow are operating as normal, but we encourage passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport," Heathrow Airport said in a statement on its website.
Berlin Airport said on Wednesday morning "check-in and boarding are still largely manual", which would result in "longer processing times, delays, and cancellations by airlines".
While Brussels Airport advised passengers to check in online before arriving at the airport.
Cyber-attacks in the aviation sector have increased by 600% over the past year, according to a report by French aerospace company Thales.
| Euractiv euractiv.com Sep 23, 2025 - 09:44 Chris Powers
AFP
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Euractiv
Danish police said on Tuesday that they did not know who was responsible for flying drones over Copenhagen airport the previous evening, but that they appeared to have been knowledgeable.
Overnight on Monday, the appearance of drones caused the main airports of both Denmark and Norway to close for several hours, causing flight diversions and other travel disruption. While flights are now resuming, heavy travel delays were expected to last throughout Tuesday.
“The number, size, flight patterns, time over the airport. All this together … indicates that it is a capable actor. Which capable actor, I do not know,” Danish police inspector Jens Jespersen told reporters at a press conference Tuesday morning.
The airport was closed for several hours before reopening early Tuesday, causing numerous delays and travel disruptions to 20,000 passengers, airport officials said.
Among those affected was European Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu, whose plane was diverted from Copenhagen to the Swedish town of Ängelholm.
Police said several large drones were seen over the Danish capital’s Kastrup airport on Monday. A heavy police presence was dispatched to investigate the drone activity, and the devices could be seen coming and going for several hours before flying away on their own.
“The drones have disappeared and the airport is open again,” Deputy Police Inspector Jakob Hansen told reporters. “We didn’t take the drones down,” he added.
Who dunnit?
Hansen said police were cooperating with the Danish military and intelligence service to find out where the drones had come from. He said police were also working with colleagues in Oslo after drone sightings in the Norwegian capital also caused the airport to close for several hours.
“We had two different drone sightings,” said Oslo airport spokeswoman Monica Fasting.
Though no culprit has been definitively identified, there is already speculation.
“Obvious to view the drones over Kastrup as a hybrid attack” was the title of a live blog post by Jakob Hvide Beim, defence editor at leading Danish newspaper Politiken. He went on to explain that the authorities have been warning about the risk of Russian hybrid attacks against Denmark “for some time now”.
Why Denmark specifically? Copenhagen’s track record of significant Ukraine support, Hvide Beim says, noting as example Denmark having “taken the lead by offering Ukrainian arms factories the opportunity to open production” in Denmark.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on X about a Russian incursion of Danish airspace on 22 September, albeit without providing proof or substantiating further.
Last night’s drone incursion over Denmark and Norway comes after a spate of Russian aerial incursions over NATO territory. Two weeks ago, Poland shot down several of the 20 Russian drones that entered its airspace which led Warsaw to activate NATO’s Article 4 – meaning it believes there is a credible threat to the country’s security.
Friday last week, Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, lingering for 12 minutes and prompting Tallinn to likewise initiate conversations under the umbrella of Article 4, which will take place today.
(cp, vib)
The data breach shows why organisations must enhance cybersecurity measures in the face of growing threats from skilled hackers like IntelBroker.
