German authorities have deployed a laser installation at Munich Airport (MUC) following multiple drone sightings at the facility since the start of the month. The hub is one of several across Europe to have faced operational disruption of this nature in recent times, including multiple days last week.
Now, those responsible for protecting Munich Airport are hoping that the newly-deployed laser installation at the Bavarian hub will be able to prevent further reoccurrences, or minimize disruption in the event that the drone issues rear their ugly head once again. Let’s take a closer look at the situation.
Multiple Days Of Drone Disruption
According to Euro News, Munich Airport experienced its first drone-related disruption on October 2, when a preventative closure was put into action following sightings near the facility. This resulted in the cancellation of 17 flights on Thursday evening, with another 15 being diverted elsewhere in southern Germany, and even to Vienna International Airport (VIE) in neighboring Austria, as search operations began.
The airport subsequently reported further sightings on Friday evening and Saturday morning, resulting in the start of flight operations being delayed on October 4. While these were ramped up throughout the day, knock-on disruption was extensive, with hundreds of delays and cancellations at Germany’s second-busiest airport on the holiday weekend following German Unity Day. The airport explained that:
“When a drone is suspected of being sighted, the safety of travellers is the top priority. Reporting chains between air traffic control, the airport, and police authorities have been established for years.”
Laser Defenses Hope To Deter Drones
While a few days of drone-based disruption are a manageable annoyance for a major hub like Munich Airport, its operations would not be so sustainable in the longer term. As such, Euro News notes that, according to anonymous security sources cited by the Bild newspaper in Germany, laser equipment has been installed at the facility with the intention of protecting it from future disruption caused by drones.
Specifically, the technology is said to be able to allow opportunities to establish the distance from the airport of the offending drone(s), which should help expedite search procedures if and when more are sighted in the vicinity of the hub once again. Munich Airport notes that, last week, “helicopters from the Federal and Bavarian State Police were also deployed to monitor the airspace and conduct searches.”
German airports are, themselves, not individually responsible for protecting themselves from drones, with Munich Airport explaining that this is a sovereign task. As such, it falls, instead, under the remit of the police, with air traffic control and the state aviation security authorities also playing a key role.
Munich Airport is a busy hub at the best of times, but last week was a particularly difficult one as far as the timing of the disruption caused by the various drone sightings is concerned. Indeed, Friday, October 3, was a public holiday (German Unity Day), making it an ideal starting point for a long weekend break. Furthermore, it was also the last week of Oktoberfest, and many tourists would have been flying home.
These factors, combined with the fact that the disruption occurred relatively late in the evening on multiple occasions, left many passengers in the sudden need of temporary overnight accommodation. With this in mind, Munich Airport explains that “camp beds were set up, and blankets, drinks, and snacks were provided” as its staff worked together with the impacted passengers’ airlines to provide a solution.
The facility also pledged to continue offering such provisions on Saturday night and into Sunday, as, while it managed to get its operations back up and running on October 4, the effects of the knock-on disruption were relatively severe. As such, “some shops, restaurants, and a pharmacy in the public area [extended] their opening hours and [remained] open throughout the night” to keep passengers fed and healthy.