Nuremberg airport suspends flights after three pilots report a possible drone
Flights at Nuremberg airport were suspended around midday on Tuesday, 13 October, citing an unconfirmed air emergency. Three pilots had reported an object in the early hours, but police found no drone.
Three pilots report an object
Between 02:00 and 04:00 on Tuesday, 13 October, three pilots at Albrecht Dürer Airport independently reported an object, police said. Each pilot saw it while taking off or landing, according to Bayerischer Rundfunk, which reported the sightings. Because the object could have been a drone, police used special detectors, which gave no indication of one. A police spokesman said the object could also have been an optical illusion that irritated the pilots. The Grenzpolizeiinspektion Nürnberg-Flughafen, the border police unit at the airport, is leading the further investigation.
Airport suspended around midday
Around midday on Tuesday, 13 October, the airport suspended flight operations because of a police operation. A spokesman told dpa that the reason was an 'unconfirmed air emergency', and it remained open what lay behind it. The operation came shortly before a flight from the Greek island of Corfu was due to land at around 12:15. The airport spokesman could not say how many security personnel were deployed. Starts and landings were not possible for a period. Whether the overnight sighting and the midday closure are connected is unclear.
- Start of the 02:00 to 04:00 period in which three pilots reported an object during take-off or landing
- End of the period in which the three pilot reports were made
- Police, border police and air traffic control search with detectors, patrol cars and a helicopter; no drone found
- Airport suspends flight operations, citing an unconfirmed air emergency
Six flights delayed and two diversions
A spokesman for the airport said six flights were delayed during the operation, two arrivals and four departures. Two incoming aircraft were precautionarily diverted to Cologne and Prague, and both were able to continue their flights to Nuremberg afterwards. Air traffic was affected only temporarily during the operation. Border police worked with the airport and Deutsche Flugsicherung, the German air navigation service, to search for and detect the object, and a police helicopter took part. The search was unsuccessful, and police said the investigation continued.
- Arrivals delayed
- 2 flights
- Departures delayed
- 4 flights
- Inbound aircraft diverted
- 2 flights
Leipzig/Halle drone case raises caution
Bayerischer Rundfunk reported that in September a drone fitted with explosives was detected in time at Leipzig/Halle airport. Because of that case, the sighting in Nuremberg is being treated with the utmost caution, according to BR. Police have not confirmed that a drone was involved in Nuremberg, and none was found. The Nuremberg case remains under investigation by the border police, and the reasons for the suspended flights have not been fully explained.
