Drone incidents cause billions in damages at German airports

A major incident occurred in July 2025 at Frankfurt am Main Airport. Linke explained: „Bereits kurze Störungen lösen im hochvernetzten Luftverkehrssystem beträchtliche Folgewirkungen aus. Besonders bei längeren Ereignissen oder wiederholten Beeinträchtigungen steigen die wirtschaftlichen Auswirkungen deutlich an, sobald systemische Pufferkapazitäten erschöpft sind."

Focus on Frankfurt and Munich

Particularly serious, according to the report, were multi-day restrictions in October 2025 at Munich Airport, where air traffic was limited for several days following a severe drone incident. In Munich, more than 30 flights had to be diverted or cancelled, affecting nearly 10,000 passengers. Both events count among the largest disruption incidents caused by unauthorized drones in German aviation to date.

The majority of drone incidents affecting flight operations occurred at the major international hubs and commercial airports. The large hubs, which have multiple runways, often only have to close one of them. At smaller commercial airports, this already leads to greater operational restrictions. A regional airport with only one runway may have to suspend operations entirely.

Comparison to the previous year and those responsible

In 2024, 118 disruption incidents were reported to the LBA. Among these, only nine led to a complete shutdown of flight operations. There were no disruption incidents as severe as the one in Munich. Accordingly, the damage was significantly lower at around half a million euros. The number of drone events at German airports rose sharply last year, according to the German Aerospace Center (DLR).

In most cases, it remains unclear who is responsible for the drone incidents. Some of the actors are certainly hobby pilots who are not sufficiently aware of flight restriction zones. In principle, flying drones within a radius of 1.5 kilometers around an airport is strictly prohibited. However, the responsible authorities assume that some disruptions are also caused intentionally, for example by intelligence services or terrorists.

Outlook: Detection and defense

According to the DLR, the development of suitable detection and defense procedures is gaining importance due to the increasing number of drone incidents. A particular challenge is the diversity of drones that can trigger disruptions, as well as the differences in the environments that will need to be protected in the future. If consequential costs, such as those from network disruptions and delays, are factored in, the damage rises to up to 160 million euros. Taking additional network effects into account, the damage figure increases to 160 million euros. This affects, for example, delays or cancellations.