Germany’s Munich the latest European airport forced to close after wave of drone sightings

Munich Airport in Germany was forced to close for almost seven hours overnight after a wave of drone sightings, the latest European aviation hub to shutter over unexplained drone flights.

A total of 17 flights were grounded shortly after 10 p.m. local time on Thursday, affecting nearly 3,000 passengers, the airport said in a statement.

In addition, 15 arriving flights were diverted to the German cities of Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Frankfurt, as well as Vienna in neighboring Austria, the statement said. Flight tracking website Flightradar showed several planes circling the airport at around 11pm local time before heading to other destinations.

The airport reopened at 5 a.m. local time when flight arrivals and departures were deemed safe, a call handler fielding passenger enquiries told CNN.

Read more: CNN