intl

Munich Int’l airport suspends flights over drone sightings

Oct. 3 (UPI) — Munich International Airport suspended all flight operations due to drones, it said early Friday, making it the latest European travel hub to have flights disrupted by unmanned aerial vehicles.

Several drones were sighted operating near Germany’s second-busiest airport Thursday night, prompting German Air Traffic Control to restrict and then suspend flight operations starting 10:18 p.m. CEST.

“When a drone is sighted, passenger safety has the highest priority,” the airport said in a Friday statement.

The shuttering of the airport impacted nearly 3,000 passengers, halting 17 departing flights and diverting 15 incoming flights to Stuttgart, Nuremberg, Vienna and Frankfurt.

Folding beds were set up in terminals for grounded passengers, who were also provided with blankets, drinks and snacks.

Last week, airports in Denmark and Norway temporarily shuttered operations after drones were sighted in their vicinity.

Earlier this month, Estonia, Poland and Romania each lodged complaints over incursions into their airspace by Russian drones and aircraft. Warsaw even shoot down at least three Russian drones.

The nature and place of origin of the drones that were sighted near Munich International Airport were not immediately clear.

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Israeli warplanes again strike Houthi-controlled Sanaa int’l airport

May 28 (UPI) — Israeli warplanes struck the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces said, seemingly in response to missiles recently launched by the militant group toward Israel.

The IDF said in a statement on X that its airstrikes targeted unidentified aircraft belonging to the Houthis.

“The aircraft that were attacked were used by the Houthi terrorist regime to transport terrorists who promoted terrorist acts against the State of Israel,” it said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strike destroyed the last remaining planes used by the Houthis at the site that remained following the IDF’s previous attack on the airport on May 6.

“This is a clear message and a direct continuation of the policy we established: Whoever fires at the State of Israel will pay a heavy price,” Katz said in the statement, The Times of Israel reported.

“The ports in Yemen will continue to be struck heavily, and the airport in Sanaa will be destroyed again and again, as will other strategic infrastructures in the area used by the Houthi terror organization and its supporters.”

Houthis, an Iran-backed group, have repeatedly attacked Israel since early in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which began on Oct. 7, 2023, in response to Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw another 251 kidnapped.

The involvement of the Houthis, also an Iran-proxy militia, increased starting in mid-November when it started to enforce a military blockade of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, vowing to attack Israeli ships attempting to pass. It said the blockade was in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The rebels followed by broadening targets to include U.S. military ships.

Israel, with its allies, including the United States, have responded with conducting mass airstrikes in Yemen.

On May 6, Israel attacked the airport in Sanaa, and last week conducted similar airstrikes on ports in Hodeidah and al-Salif.

On Tuesday, the IDF said it had intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.

“This is another example of the Houthi terrorist organization’s brutal use of civilian infrastructure for terrorist activities,” the IDF said Wednesday morning on X, seemingly in reference to the Sanaa airport.

“The IDF is determined to continue to act and strike with force anyone who poses a threat to the residents of the State of Israel, at whatever distance is required.”

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