Drone sighting briefly shuts Germany’s Berlin Brandenburg Airport

German authorities shut both runways at Berlin Brandenburg Airport for about 45 minutes Wednesday after a drone was reported above the north runway.

It forced several incoming flights to land in other cities.

“At 8 pm (1800GMT) there was a drone sighting on the north runway of the airport. At 8:20 pm the airspace over the airport was closed,” an airport spokesperson told reporters.

The airport reopened the airspace at 9;05 pm, said the spokesperson, and flights resumed though with delays. A federal police spokeswoman told the Bild newspaper that multiple witnesses reported seeing a drone at the airport. At least five flights were diverted to Dresden and Leipzig.

Authorities said it was not yet clear whether the object was a hobby drone, a deliberate intrusion, or something else.

Germany’s air-navigation service DFS said that in the first half of 2026, Berlin Brandenburg Airport led the country with 28 tower drone sightings, up from eight in 2025, with operations interrupted in seven cases. Suspected drones have also repeatedly appeared above military sites and critical infrastructure.