2026 Leipzig Airport drone attack
European Air Transport Leipzig, for DHL Aviation Boeing 757-23N (SF) · Mid-air collision with an unmanned aerial vehicle, under investigation
From Marseille Provence Airport (MRS) to Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ)
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Incident
- Event fatalities
- 0 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- Unknown
- Survivors
- Unknown
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 0
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Boeing 757-23N (SF)
- Flight
- QY9LE
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 757
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- D-ALEU
- Onboard fatalities
- 0
- Route
- From Marseille Provence Airport (MRS)To Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ)
Not plotted · Not plotted: the Wikipedia article gives no coordinates, and its site names no town or airport that matches exactly.
From the Wikipedia article
Between the last hours of 4 August 2026 and the early hours of 5 August 2026, two incidents involving unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) occurred at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Saxony, Germany. The first incident involved a drone carrying explosives, which was found on airport grounds near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft; this prompted the closure of the airport for the following hours. The second incident occurred as a Boeing 757-23N (SF) went around, due to the closure of the airport, after a landing attempt and collided with a second drone. German Federal Minister of the Interior, Alexander Dobrindt, stated that the attack was carried out by professionals, probably on behalf of foreign powers as part of a hybrid war scenario. On 1 September 2026, Germany formally blamed Russia for the hybrid-attack and announced the closure of the Russian House in Berlin and Russian Consulate in Bonn.
Investigation and cause
Findings and escalation
On 1 September 2026, German authorities formally accused Russia of responsibility for the drone attack. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said Germany was "a daily target of hybrid attacks" and raised the country's threat level from "general" to "high". Germany subsequently ordered the closure of the Russian consulate in Bonn and the Russian House in Berlin, while tightening entry controls for Russian nationals.
The European Commission announced plans for additional sanctions, while NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte welcomed Germany's response. Several European leaders also expressed solidarity with Germany and condemned the alleged Russian attack. French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson voiced support for Germany. The governments of Czechia and Estonia also expressed solidarity with Germany and called for a coordinated European response. President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union stood in "full solidarity" with Germany, while President of the European Council António Costa stressed the need for European unity in responding to Russian hybrid threats.
Russia denied responsibility, with ambassador Sergey Nechayev calling the accusations "unsubstantiated, absurd, and irrational" and warning of retaliatory measures. In response to Germany's decision to close the Russian House cultural center in Berlin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia would shut German Goethe-Institut cultural centers in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, describing the move as a reciprocal response.
Text from the Wikipedia article “2026 Leipzig Airport drone attack” (revision 1375055258, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: 2026 Leipzig Airport drone attack
- Revision
- 1375055258 · 2026-09-15 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q141003243
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "2026 Leipzig Airport drone attack" (page 83906448, revision 1375055258)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- none
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- airline flight number in the infobox
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.