Vehicle breaches fence at Leipzig/Halle Airport – north runway closed
A car has broken through the security fence at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The north runway remains closed, but airport operations continue without restrictions according to an airport spokesman.
Fence breach near Russian cargo aircraft triggers major police operation
A vehicle broke through the security fence at Leipzig/Halle Airport during the night, triggering a large-scale police operation. According to welt.de, the Leipzig Police Directorate stated: "Investigations so far have shown that a vehicle must have broken through the fence with high probability."
The damage to the fence was discovered shortly before 11 p.m. The police classified the incident as "security-relevant", which led to the closure of the north runway and the temporary suspension of flight operations on the north side. Federal police units, supported by state police, subsequently searched the entire grounds.
According to a police spokesman, the damaged section of fence is located near three Russian Antonov cargo aircraft that have been on airport grounds since 2022. Due to EU sanctions against Russia following its war of aggression against Ukraine, the aircraft are neither permitted to take off nor to be moved.
In the morning, the Leipzig Police Directorate gave an initial interim assessment: neither unauthorised persons nor suspicious objects were found on the grounds. Further search operations involving additional personnel were planned in the course of the day. According to the statement, investigations are proceeding "in all directions".
Airport spokesman Uwe Schuhart stated that passenger and freight traffic was not affected. Since the airport has two runways, the closure of the north runway does not result in any restrictions on flight operations.
To date, there is no reliable information about the background to the incident. Leipzig/Halle Airport last made headlines in early August when an explosives-laden drone was discovered near Ukrainian cargo aircraft. The German government held Russia responsible for the attempted attack – Moscow denied the allegations.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)