A DHL cargo aircraft hit an unknown object as it was climbing away from Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany overnight, prompting an unscheduled landing in Hanover, a source familiar with the incident told Reuters on Wednesday.
Authorities said they were investigating a drone found near a runway at the airport during the night, which the Bild newspaper said contained a detonator.
The southern runway of the airport, a major hub for the logistics group DHL, remained closed while explosives experts examined the drone, a police spokesperson said.
Several aircraft, including a passenger flight, were diverted overnight, but operations were back to normal in the morning, the spokesperson said.
German airports are on high alert after a series of unauthorized drone overflights at sites including military facilities, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies.
Federal police have said the overflights could have been organized by Russian agents.
DRONE FOUND NEAR RUNWAY Bild reported that a drone with a detonation device had been found lying in the immediate vicinity of a Ukrainian cargo plane shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
While air traffic was being diverted, one cargo plane had to abort its landing. It then hit an unknown object before later landing in Hanover, where minor damage to the nose section was discovered, according to the report.
An interior ministry spokesperson confirmed that a drone had been found at the airport but did not give further details.
European security agencies have been investigating a series of incendiary devices concealed in parcels that caught fire in 2024, raising concerns about sabotage of air cargo operators.
Some of the devices were found at a DHL warehouse in Leipzig and in freight shipments in transit across Europe.
Russia has denied any involvement in the incidents. DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer said the German logistics firm was still studying the overnight incident.
"We've got plans for cases like this, and we'll try to make sure that the influence on our customers will be as low as possible," Meyer said during a quarterly results call.
