Germany should “get the power to shoot down” drones in its airspace, an official has said, after incursions led to major disruption at Munich airport.
Nearly 3,000 passengers were left stranded late on Thursday after several drone sightings forced air traffic control to suspend operations, leading to cancellations and diversions.
It was the latest in a series of similar incidents that have rattled Europe, raising concerns about attacks on Ukraine’s allies, possibly directed by Russia.
Markus Soeder, the premier of Bavaria, has said: “Our police must get the power to shoot drones down.”
He told German publication Bild: “We need sovereignty over our airspace.”
Federal police deployed helicopters and other means to try to track down the drones, but no signs of them could be found, a spokesperson for Germany‘s federal police said.
Flights resumed at 5am local time (3am in the UK).
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It comes after airspace intrusions last week shut airports in Denmark and Norway – after which European Union leaders at a Copenhagen summit backed plans to bolster the bloc’s anti-drone defences.
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Authorities have not publicly blamed anyone for the Munich incident but some European officials have suggested Russia was behind the other violations.
Read more:
Airport drone sightings – what we know
Putin issues defiant message
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday: “Russia tries to test us. But Russia also tries to sow division and anxiety in our societies.”
Putin jokes about drone accusations
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the incidents – and Vladimir Putin made a joke as he was asked about sending drones on Thursday.
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The Russian president grinned as he quipped: “I won’t do it anymore – to France, Denmark, Copenhagen, Lisbon – wherever they could reach.”
Taking a more serious tone, he continued: “But seriously, we don’t even have drones that can reach Lisbon.
“We have some and they have long range but there are no targets, which is the main thing.”
Officials in Russia and close ally Belarus did last month acknowledge that some drones used as part of the war in Ukraine had entered Polish airspace – prompting a scramble by Poland and NATO allies to deploy fighter jets to shoot them down.
