Today's Edition
BERLIN (AFP)
Germany's Munich airport restarted flights on Friday after several drone sightings forced its closure overnight, the latest in a string of similar aviation disruptions across Europe.
Airports in Denmark, Norway and Poland have recently suspended flights due to unidentified drones.
Munich became the latest to close its airspace on Thursday night after several drone sightings, causing more than 30 flights to be cancelled or diverted and leaving nearly 3,000 passengers stranded.
Flights had restarted by early Friday, with flight tracking websites showing planes departing the airport at around 5:50 am (0350 GMT).
A spokesperson for German flag carrier Lufthansa said "flight operations have since resumed according to schedule".
"Nineteen Lufthansa flights were affected -- either cancelled or re-routed -- because of the the airport suspension," the spokesperson said.
A police spokesperson earlier told AFP that several people spotted drones around the airport at about 1930 GMT on Thursday, and again an hour later, leading to the closure of both runways for an hour.
The airport said it had laid on camp beds, blankets, drinks and snacks to affected passengers.
German authorities have launched a search to identify the origin of the drones.
Police helicopters were deployed but "no information is available on the type and number of drones," the spokesperson said.
