Drone sighting leads to short-term suspension of air traffic at BER

Due to a drone sighting at the Berlin-Brandenburg capital airport (BER), flight operations were temporarily suspended in the evening. There were no more take-offs and landings for 45 minutes. The closure was lifted again at 9:05 p.m., spokeswomen for BER and the federal police told dpa.

A drone was spotted at 8 p.m. The German air traffic control then initially closed the north runway for take-offs and landings, and then also the south runway at 8:20 p.m. Shortly after 9 p.m. the all-clear was given. The “Bild” newspaper had previously reported.

Delays and diversions

There were delays in takeoffs and landings on numerous flights, as can be seen on the BER website with arrivals and departures. Several machine diversions were indicated.

Federal police were unable to detect any drone

The federal police spokeswoman said employees at the airport had spotted the drone. Federal police forces then kept a lookout. “We couldn’t make any determination.” Then air traffic will be released again.

BER with a particularly large number of drone sightings

At no other German airport were as many drones spotted in the first half of the year as at the capital airport BER. The tower in Schönefeld registered 28 such flying objects in the first six months, as the German Air Traffic Control (DFS) announced upon request. That was one more sighting than in the same period at Germany's largest airport in Frankfurt am Main.

As a result, air traffic at BER had to be temporarily interrupted in seven cases. What is particularly striking is the big jump compared to the previous year: According to air traffic control, only eight drones were detected at BER and in the surrounding area in the entire year of 2025.

Drone with explosives discovered in Leipzig

Most recently, a drone discovery at Leipzig/Halle Airport caused a stir and sparked debates about security. An aircraft prepared with explosives was discovered there next to Ukrainian cargo planes. The federal government blames Russia for the attempted attack. Moscow denies this.