German Probe After Report Of Flying Object Near Ukrainian Plane At Airport

German police have launched an investigation after the Leipzig/Halle airport temporarily suspended and diverted flights due to the sighting of a suspicious object flying in the area.

“Shortly before midnight, an unidentified flying object was sighted near Leipzig/Halle Airport, prompting the diversion of several aircraft, including a passenger plane, to other airports,” the Leipzig Police Directorate said in a statement late on August 4.

“An object was also discovered in the vicinity of the south runway and was initially examined by the Federal Police,” it added.

Operations on the airport’s north runway resumed early on August 5, but the south runway remains closed as police investigate, authorities said. No further details were given.

Reuters quoted a source on August 5 as saying a DHL cargo aircraft collided mid-air with an unknown object shortly after take-off from Leipzig/Halle airport, prompting an immediate unscheduled landing in Hanover.

Several German media outlets, including Bild, reported that a drone was found in the immediate vicinity of a Ukrainian An-124 cargo aircraft on a runway. It was not immediately clear if that drone was the same drone from the report about the DHL incident or a different one.

A NATO official told RFE/RL that the military alliance could not confirm reports that a drone was sighted near a Ukrainian plane at the Leipzig/Halle airport. The official said NATO was aware of the Leipzig Police Directorate statement but that it was up to German authorities to confirm any details of the incident.

The Leipzig/Halle airport is a major logistical hub for DHL, a German-owned international shipping giant.

DHL Crash

A DHL plane crashed near Vilnius in November 2024 killing the jet’s Spanish pilot and injuring another Spanish crew member, a German, and a Lithuanian.

The crash came amid concerns among Western security officials that Russian intelligence is preparing acts of sabotage targeting Western cargo aircraft, though officials have said so far they have no evidence of a link.

In November 2025, the Safety Investigation Division of Lithuania’s Justice Ministry said a report into the incident is expected in the coming months.

In July 2024, there were a series of fires at courier companies in Poland, the UK, and at the DHL freight center at the Leipzig/Halle Airport.

Lithuanian authorities have alleged the actions were organized and coordinated by people with links to Russia’s military intelligence service. Moscow has denied any involvement in the incidents.

At a trial in Lithuania earlier this week, a DHL company representative told the court that the parcel caught fire on the ground at the logistics center shortly before loading, rather than during the flight, because the plane was delayed.

Five suspects are on trial in the case. The men, aged between 23 and 69, are accused of terrorist acts and forming an organized terrorist association. Lithuanian investigators allege the five were recruited by Russian agents to help deliver the packages to various locations for DHL to ship.