(Aug 5): Germany’s Leipzig-Halle airport, a major hub for transporting cargo and military equipment, temporarily suspended flights after a drone was sighted overnight and a cargo plane collided in midair with a small, unidentified object.

Several aircraft, including a passenger plane, were diverted, and part of the airport remains closed, according to a statement published on Wednesday by local police. The incident is being investigated in collaboration with Germany’s federal police.

The drone sighting was confirmed by a spokesperson for Germany’s interior ministry. Separately, the government confirmed that a plane struck a smaller object in the air and was forced to land at a regional airport in Hanover.

German news agency DPA reported, citing a Nato spokesperson, that another unidentified object was found near a Ukrainian aircraft. Leipzig airport is an important base for Ukraine’s Antonov transport planes since Russia invaded the country.

A Nato spokesperson told Bloomberg the organisation was aware of the incident and German authorities were investigating.

The airport in Leipzig, in the country’s east, has previously been the target of attacks and espionage attempts. In 2025, a woman was convicted of collecting information about flights, particularly military transports, to help with spying for China.

A year earlier, a freight container caught fire at a DHL logistics center in an incident authorities said may have been attempted sabotage by Russia.

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