Suspected explosive device near Ukrainian Antonov cargo plane shuts Leipzig/Halle Airport overnight

Overnight shutdown at Leipzig/Halle

Leipzig/Halle Airport, one of Europe's largest cargo hubs handling about 2.2 million passengers annually, suspended all flight operations overnight on 4-5 August 2026 after a suspected explosive device was found on the apron near a Ukrainian Antonov An-124 "Ruslan" cargo plane operated by Antonov Airlines. The object was discovered at 23:42 on 4 August. Police spokesman Olaf Hoppe said a flying object had been sighted and a separate object was found in the area of the southern runway; police declined to confirm that what was sighted was a drone. Bild reported from security circles that explosives and a detonator were said to have been attached to the device, and investigators were treating it as a possible explosive device. Preliminary tests indicated the presence of nitrates suitable for use as explosives, according to Die Welt. The device was disarmed on 5 August; wnp.pl reported the charge was a mixture of fertilizers and gasoline, relatively easy to produce.

DHL cargo plane collision

As the airport was being closed, a DHL cargo plane aborted its landing and climbed away. At an altitude of about 400 metres and approximately 6 to 6.5 kilometres east of the runway, it collided with an unidentified object. The aircraft diverted to Hanover and landed safely. A post-flight inspection found minor damage to the forward section of the fuselage. A federal interior ministry spokesman confirmed the collision. Authorities in Lower Saxony opened a separate investigation, classifying the case as a crime against state security. Investigators have not established whether the collision is connected to the object found beside the southern runway.

Investigation and political response

The German national prosecutor took over the investigation before 14:00 on 5 August, with prosecutors from the ZESA extremism office and the national anti-terrorism unit involved. Reuters reported that the prosecutor's office stated the drone carried an explosive charge. Bild wrote that authorities suspected the device flew to the airport rather than being planted. The search for the operator has not produced results. Police in Saxony and Lower Saxony are conducting separate proceedings.

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt cut short a foreign holiday and returned to Leipzig for a briefing with senior officials. In an interview with ARD public television, he described the incident as a "new quality of threat" and a "hybrid scenario of an attack."

For the first time, a drone with explosive material was located on the grounds of an airport. We must be aware of the threat. Politicians must respond to this threat.

Dobrindt said the device "was not the work of amateurs, but the work of high-class professionals" and that foreign powers could be behind it, while cautioning that nothing could yet be proven. According to reporting by NDR, WDR and Süddeutsche Zeitung, citing investigation documents, the airport was close to catastrophe: the detonator in the package attached to the device detached, preventing an explosion. Saxony Interior Minister Armin Schuster called the incident "very serious."

Background

Leipzig/Halle is a key node for Western military aid to Ukraine; Antonov Airlines moved its fleet there in 2022 after Russia's full-scale invasion. In July 2024, a package sent from the Baltic states caught fire at the DHL logistics center in Leipzig; German counterintelligence assessed that Russian services were likely behind it. German airports have faced repeated drone disruptions over the past year, with some incidents suspected of involving Russian agents.