Nuremberg Airport closes after pilots report suspected drone

Flight operations at Nuremberg's Albrecht Duerer Airport were temporarily halted early Tuesday after three pilots independently reported sighting a suspected drone near the airfield during takeoffs and landings between 2 am and 4 am local time. In response, border police, airport management, and German air traffic control launched an immediate security sweep. A police helicopter was deployed to verify the reports, but no confirmation of the object was found. Police spokesman Michael Petzold stated that the measures "did not lead to the verification of the reported object," and the Nuremberg border police inspectorate is conducting further investigations.

During the incident, a passenger aircraft arriving from the Greek island of Corfu was escorted by Eurofighter jets as a precautionary measure before landing safely at 12:16 local time. An airport spokesperson confirmed the landing occurred just one minute after the scheduled arrival time.

The incident occurs amid heightened concern in Germany regarding drone activity near airports and critical infrastructure. In August 2026, authorities discovered an explosives-laden drone at Leipzig/Halle Airport near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft. German officials attributed that incident to Russia as part of hybrid operations, a claim Moscow denied. Nuremberg Airport is one of Bavaria's two major airports and Germany's fifth busiest by passenger traffic.