A police operation has begun at Leipzig/Halle airport in Germany after damage was discovered to the airport's fence overnight. The northern runway has been closed and flights from the northern side have been temporarily suspended. The southern runway remains open.
The damage was discovered shortly before 11 p.m. on October 17, Leipzig police said. Federal police and Saxony state police were dispatched to the scene and are searching the airport area.
“It is currently unclear whether there are any unauthorized persons on the airport grounds,“ Leipzig police said.The initial inspection found no unauthorized persons or suspicious objects. Later, the investigation showed that it was highly likely that a car had broken through the fence. However, the car was not found, and the police did not report any arrests or suspects.
North runway remains closed
Further operations involving more officers are planned for the day. They are to clarify how the fence was damaged and whether anyone had broken through it. Police have not said when the northern runway will be reopened.
According to German public broadcaster “Tagesschau“ the restrictions affect the northern side of the airport, while the southern runway remains open to air traffic. There is no official confirmation of a complete suspension of flights or a specific number of canceled and delayed connections.
The case is being investigated by the Leipzig police in cooperation with the Federal Police. At present, there is no confirmed information about a crime committed, a motive or a connection to a specific person.
The airport was under increased attention in August
The new incident also attracted attention because of what happened at the same airport in August. At that time, a drone with a suspicious device was found next to Ukrainian cargo planes, which German authorities identified as an explosive. The German government has accused Russia of the sabotage attempt, a charge Moscow has denied.
In this case, however, German authorities have not indicated a link to the August incident. The main questions remain the reason for the breach in the fence, the possible infiltration and the moment when the northern runway will be released for flights.
Sources: medienservice.sachsen.de, tagesschau.de, derstandard.de