Private drone briefly stops air traffic at Düsseldorf Airport

A private drone took off near Düsseldorf Airport and caused a brief interruption to air traffic. According to the police, the airport reported a drone sighting around six kilometers away on Saturday morning. “Although the drone landed again a few minutes later, arrival traffic at Düsseldorf Airport was interrupted for around ten minutes,” said the officials.

A short time later, at the landing site, the police found a 29-year-old who was said to have taken photos of a private party using the drone. He is being investigated on suspicion of dangerous interference with air traffic. The state security service was also informed, but did not find any relevant clues, the police said.

Drone incidents at German airports

Growing dangers from unauthorized drone overflights have long been causing a debate about the protection of critical infrastructure in Germany. Last week a drone was spotted at Berlin Airport. Flight operations were then stopped for around 45 minutes. After the sighting, the federal police searched for the drone but could not find anything, it was said.

In addition, a drone equipped with explosives was discovered at Leipzig/Halle Airport in August. She was between Ukrainian cargo planes. The Federal Prosecutor's Office is investigating suspicions of attempting to cause an explosive explosion. The federal government blamed Russia for the attack. Moscow denies this.