Drone carrying explosives at German airport marks ‘new level of danger’, says interior minister

Investigators treating incident as part of ‘professional hybrid threat scenario’, says Alexander Dobrindt

Police forensic technicians prepare to deploy an explosive-disposal robot near a Ukrainian aircraft at Leipzig/Halle Airport, in Schkeuditz, Germany, Wednesday Aug. 5, 2026, where flight operations were suspended overnight after a drone sighting was reported and another object was found near a runway. (Hendrik Schmidt/dpa via AP)

Germany’s interior minister has warned that the discovery of a drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport marks “a new level of danger” for the country, as authorities examine whether the thwarted attack could have been planned by a foreign power.

The discovery of a small drone carrying explosives at Leipzig airport, a leading shipping and military hub, set off alarm and caused flight diversions on Wednesday morning. German police deployed a bomb disposal robot to defuse and destroy the explosive device.