Budapest flight cancelled as drone panic shuts down Munich Airport
On Thursday evening, Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss Airport was brought to a standstill for several hours after multiple drones were spotted near the facility. Owing to the security risk, German air traffic control closed the runways, causing significant disruption. The chaos also affected passengers travelling to and from Budapest: Lufthansa flight LH1674, scheduled to depart Munich for Budapest at 6:25 a.m. on Friday, and its return service, LH1675, were both cancelled
Thousands of passengers stranded in Munich
The airport was shut shortly after 10 p.m. local time, following drone sightings at 9:30 p.m. and again an hour later, according to reports from Welt cited by 24.hu. Police and airport security units searched the area with helicopters and ground patrols but failed to locate the drones or their operators.
As a result of the closure, 17 flights were cancelled and a further 15 were diverted to other cities, including Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Frankfurt and Vienna. In total, 32 flights were affected, leaving around 3,000 passengers stranded overnight at the airport.
Camp beds and blankets in terminals
The airport operator provided food, drinks and blankets for stranded travellers, while camp beds were set up inside the terminals. Hundreds of passengers were forced to spend the night at the airport, while others were accommodated in nearby hotels. Regular flight operations only resumed after 5 a.m. on Friday, once authorities had declared the airspace safe, 444.hu reported.
Heightened attention across Europe
This is not the first time drones have disrupted major international airports. A similar incident occurred in Denmark only last week, which some politicians described as a possible Russian provocation. European Union leaders this week unanimously backed strengthening defences against drone threats, while Moscow categorically denied any involvement.
The timing of the Munich airport disruption was particularly sensitive: the city is currently hosting Oktoberfest, an event that attracts millions of visitors each year, meaning the incident may have indirectly affected tens of thousands of travellers.
Let me guess: Russia and Putin. :rolls eyes:
Nothing to do with Agenda 2030, where, among other things, they want to confine people to “15-Minute Cities” and not have us travel by air at all.
Wouldn’t be surprised if we’d see a whole bunch of freak airplane crashes in the next year or two…