Munich Airport Begins Slow Reopening After Late-Night Drone Sightings

Night view shows an Air Lingus plane grounded at Munich International Airport in Munich, southern Germany, on early October 4, 2025. (AFP)
Night view shows an Air Lingus plane grounded at Munich International Airport in Munich, southern Germany, on early October 4, 2025. (AFP)
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Munich Airport Begins Slow Reopening After Late-Night Drone Sightings

Night view shows an Air Lingus plane grounded at Munich International Airport in Munich, southern Germany, on early October 4, 2025. (AFP)
Night view shows an Air Lingus plane grounded at Munich International Airport in Munich, southern Germany, on early October 4, 2025. (AFP)

Munich airport said on Saturday it was gradually resuming flights from 7 a.m. (0500 GMT), with delays expected through the day, hours after both runways were closed for the second time in less than 24 hours due to a drone sighting.

The airport advised travellers to check with their airlines as it prepared for the restart, two hours later than originally scheduled, after the Friday evening closure. Dozens of flights had been diverted or cancelled, stranding some 6,500 passengers, authorities said.

European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings that some authorities have blamed on Russia. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

Authorities have yet to attribute Thursday's or Friday's drone sightings to a specific actor.

"German air traffic control restricted flight operations at Munich Airport as a precautionary measure due to unconfirmed drone sightings and suspended them until further notice," a statement on the airport website read.

In a later update, the airport said 23 flights were diverted, 12 flights to Munich and 48 departures cancelled or postponed.

"As on the previous night, the airport and airlines took care of the passengers," it added. "Camp beds, blankets, drinks and snacks were handed out."

The previous evening, the captain on a London-bound aircraft whose departure was cancelled told passengers that runways had been closed "because of drone sightings near the take-off and landing runways" and that police helicopters were aloft.

The airport website showed due arrivals had been diverted starting at 8:35 p.m. (1835 GMT). Munich airport was closed for several hours late on Thursday and in the small hours after unconfirmed drone sightings that disrupted dozens of flights.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt promised earlier on Friday to bring forward legislation making it easier for the police to ask the military to shoot drones down.



Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian and American forces raced each other Saturday to recover a crew member from the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.

Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane and US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other was still missing.

Iran's military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot of that plane was rescued, reported AFP.

The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The president has been briefed."

President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: "No, not at all. No, it's war."

On Saturday, there were fresh strikes on Israel, Lebanon and Iran, as well as on Gulf states.

An AFP journalist saw a thick haze of grey smoke covering Tehran's skyline after hearing several blasts over the capital. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted.

- 'Valuable reward' -

A spokesperson for the Iranian military's central operational command earlier said "an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force's advanced air defense system".

"The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing."

An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would "receive a valuable reward".

Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot's training would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, mocked the Trump administration.

He wrote on X: "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'

"Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."


Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)

A blast hit a pro-Israeli center in the Netherlands, police said Saturday, adding it caused minimal damage and no injuries.

A police spokeswoman told AFP no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit, in the central city of Nijkerk when the explosion went off outside its gate late on Friday.

An investigation was ongoing.

The incident comes after a string of similar night-time attacks on Jewish sites in the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in recent weeks that has heightened concerns in the wake of the war in the Middle East.


Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
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Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)

Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The agency announced Saturday’s attack on social media.

The US AP’s military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.

The plane, identified by Iran as a US F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.

The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, has rippled across the region. It has so far killed thousands, upended global markets, cut off key shipping routes, spiked fuel prices and shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds to US and Israeli airstrikes with attacks across the region.