
Planes were diverted and departures delayed on Tuesday night after reports of a drone sighting at Germany's Leipzig/Halle airport.
Passengers faced disruption following a major overnight police operation at Leipzig/Halle airport in Saxony-Anhalt.
One passenger flight and several cargo aircraft were diverted during the operation.
Police said a drone was spotted in the vicinity of the airport just after midnight on Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, a suspicious object was discovered on one of the two runways.
Flight operations were immediately suspended as police launched a probe.
A Marabu Airlines passenger aircraft, arriving from Palma de Mallorca, was diverted to Nuremberg Airport. It then arrived in Leipzig during the night, according to data from the flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Cargo operations at the DHL hub were significantly disrupted throughout the night, with scheduled departures delayed until the early hours of the morning.
While the search for the drone was still underway, a suspicious object was found on the southern runway. Police examined it using a bomb disposal unit. The object was still being identified on Wednesday, police told German newspaper Bild.
The southern runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport remained closed on Wednesday morning.
The police operation took place in the immediate vicinity of Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft, which are stationed near the south runway.
All air traffic has been operating exclusively via the northern runway. According to police, as of Wednesday morning around 10 am there are currently no restrictions on flight operations.
Drone sightings have become more common in recent years, often causing major disruption at European airports.
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