Berlin Brandenburg Airport temporarily suspended flight operations for about 45 minutes on Wednesday evening after a drone was reported near the northern runway. The disruption halted take-offs and landings across the airport, diverted several arriving flights to other German airports and left departures and arrivals delayed after services resumed at 21:05 local time.
The alert came at around 20:00, first affecting the north runway before the south runway was also closed shortly afterwards. BER and federal police confirmed the incident, and operations restarted once the airspace was cleared. No drone was found during the response, and the aircraft type and operator remained unknown.
The airport has faced repeated drone-related interruptions this year. German air traffic control data cited in the reports show 28 drone sightings at BER in the first half of the year, with seven of those cases forcing temporary suspensions of flight operations. The latest incident adds to the airport’s recurring exposure to unauthorised drone activity around critical runway areas.