Berlin Airport Halts Flights Over Drone
Berlin airport suspended operations due to an unidentified drone. Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) temporarily suspended operations following reports of unidentified drone activity in the area.
Consensus
- The Berlin-Brandenburg Airport (BER) temporarily suspended operations on September 23.
- A drone was detected near the airport around 20:00 local time.
- Airspace over the airport was closed starting at 20:20.
- Operations resumed at 21:05.
- Several flights were redirected to Dresden and Leipzig.
- The incident caused delays and cancellations.
- The Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is the German airport with the highest number of detected drones.
- In the first half of 2026, 28 drones were detected at BER, compared to eight in all of 2025.
- The German air traffic control authority (DFS) confirmed the closure of both northern and southern runways.
Points of divergence
- Five aircraft were redirected to other cities, including two to Dresden and three to Leipzig. — tg_astrapress
- A pilot reported three drone sightings during a forced landing in Leipzig, and a journalist on an Eurowings flight from Cologne reported a drone sighting that led to aborted landing. — tg_astrapress
- The southern runway was closed after the northern one, and restrictions were lifted after one hour. — tg_radiosvoboda
- The incident occurred in the context of investigations into suspicious drones near German airports and military sites. — meduza
- Authorities found material resembling explosives near the drone crash site in Wunstorf on September 15, and the drone's construction matches those found in Leipzig. — vedomosti
- The drone crash site in Wunstorf is near a Bundeswehr A400M transport aircraft base. — vedomosti
- A pilot reported three drones in the airspace during a flight to Leipzig. — kommerant
- Germany officially accused Russia of a sabotage attempt in Leipzig on August 4, 2026. — meduza
- Russia denied the accusations and called Western media's claims about Russian involvement baseless. — vedomosti
Coverage (13 sources)
- Berlin Airport suspended operations due to unidentified drone — Москва 24
- Unknown drone spotted at Berlin airport — РИАМО
- Berlin Airport halting operations due to drone — ASTRA
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport suspended evening operations on September 23 due to a nearby drone. — Радио Свобода
- Berlin Airport suspended operations due to drone. 28 drones recorded since the start of the year — Meduza
- Berlin Airport suspended operations due to unknown drone — The Moscow Times
- Bild: Berlin airport suspended operations due to unknown drone — Ведомости
- Berlin Airport completely stopped flights for 45 minutes due to a drone — DW Главное
- Work at Berlin airport was suspended due to a drone — Коммерсантъ
- Berlin Airport was closed due to an unknown drone — Вести
- Berlin Airport stopped operations due to unidentified drone on runway — Вечерняя Москва
- Berlin Airport Temporarily Closed Due to Appearance of Unidentified Drone — ЭХО / Новости
- Unknown drone was spotted on the territory of Berlin's international airport. Work at the air harbor suspended, so... — ТАСС (Telegram)