Germany: Munich airport shuts down after drone sightings; 17 flights grounded

Munich Airport in Germany was forced to temporarily close early Friday local time following multiple drone sightings, officials confirmed. The disruption grounded 17 flights, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, the airport said in an official statement, according to the CNN.In addition, 15 inbound flights were redirected to other German cities, including Stuttgart, Nuremberg, and Frankfurt, as well as Vienna in Austria, the airport said. Munich Airport, located in Bavaria in southern Germany, handled nearly 20 million passengers in the first half of 2025. The closure adds Munich to a growing list of European airports disrupted by drone sightings. Last week, multiple Danish airports experienced similar incidents, affecting tens of thousands of travelers. In response, Denmark has temporarily banned all civil drone flights ahead of this week’s European leaders’ summit in Copenhagen.This is a developing story