LANGEN (dpa-AFX) – Germany's airspace is witnessing a growing number of dangerous encounters between drones and manned aircraft. According to the German Air Traffic Control (DFS), 208 hazardous disruptions to air traffic caused by unmanned aerial vehicles have already been registered this year through November. This figure significantly surpasses the 149 incidents recorded in the same period last year. The previous annual high from 2024, with 161 cases, has already been exceeded.
Incidents are generally logged when unmanned aerial vehicles approach dangerously close to civilian aircraft or air traffic facilities. Operations at major airports are repeatedly suspended when drones are spotted in restricted areas. In most cases, it remains unclear who is operating the drones. Authorities increasingly suspect not only inexperienced hobby pilots but also intelligence or terrorist motives.
Federal Police Employ Additional Detection Measures
Most reports of drone activity come from commercial pilots, tower controllers, or, since this year, from newly installed detection systems operated by the Federal Police. These enhanced monitoring measures may have contributed to the increased number of reported cases.
Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the drones were sighted near larger airports, according to DFS in response to an inquiry. Germany's largest airport in Frankfurt has seen a dramatic surge, with 45 drone sightings in the first eleven months compared to just 17 in the same period last year. One drone operator was arrested. Frequent drone alerts were also reported at Cologne/Bonn (14 cases), Hamburg (13), and Munich (12). Berlin's capital airport, which was notable last year, recorded 8 sightings.
Air traffic controllers assume that the regular flow of air traffic is disrupted as soon as a drone is sighted, since both controllers and pilots can be distracted. In Germany, drone flights are prohibited near airport takeoff and landing zones – a minimum distance of 1.5 kilometers must be maintained. Operating drones at airports is considered a criminal offense, classified as a dangerous interference with air traffic, and can be punished with prison sentences of up to ten years./ceb/DP/mis
