On two separate occasions within a few days, flight operations at Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) were temporarily suspended due to sightings of unidentified flying objects near a Bundeswehr helicopter hangar. The incidents on March 11 and 14, 2026, are part of a growing pattern of suspicious drone activity over European airports and military infrastructure—and once again raise questions that the relevant authorities have so far been unable to answer.
On the evening of March 11, 2026, air traffic control at BER detected an unidentified flying object near the German Bundeswehr hangar at around 6:40 p.m. local time. As an airport spokesperson confirmed to the AFP news agency, flight operations were subsequently suspended for about 30 minutes “as a safety precaution.” The police, who were called in, were subsequently unable to locate the object; according to a later statement, the suspicion was “not substantiated.” Normal operations resumed shortly after 7:10 p.m.
Just four days later, on the evening of March 14, an almost identical scenario repeated itself. Eyewitnesses reported this time of a “glowing flying object” observed above the same Bundeswehr hangar. This incident also led to a roughly 30-minute suspension of flight operations. The exact nature of the object has not yet been publicly clarified.
In response to a press inquiry from The UAP Observer, the BER Airport press office issued a brief statement referring the matter to the relevant security authorities: “The state and federal police are responsible for the identification and defense against unidentified objects in the air.”
More revealing was the response from the Southern Police Directorate of the Brandenburg State Police, which is responsible for the area surrounding BER. A press spokesperson confirmed to The UAP Observer that preliminary investigations had been initiated in connection with the described incidents. At the same time, it was acknowledged that such sightings at BER are by no means unusual: "In fact, there are repeated reports of suspected or actual drone sightings by witnesses around the airport grounds." Regarding specific details—number of witnesses, type of object, measures taken—the department referred to the ongoing investigations and asked for understanding that no further information could be provided on this matter.
The Berlin incidents are not isolated cases. According to the German Air Traffic Control (DFS), a total of 192 drone-related disruptions were recorded at German airports in 2025—an increase from 141 the previous year. At Frankfurt Airport alone, 35 incidents were recorded during the same period.
At BER itself, operations were already suspended for about two hours in November 2025 due to a drone sighting. In October 2025, Munich Airport was closed twice within 24 hours, resulting in 17 flight cancellations and 15 diversions. At the European level, a four-hour closure of Copenhagen Airport in September 2025 caused a stir, with Danish investigators pointing to a “capable actor” who deliberately turned the drone on and off.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz had already stated in October 2025 that the frequent drone overflights in Europe could be linked to “espionage activities” and attempts to “disrupt public order.” That same month, his cabinet passed a law allowing German police to shoot down unidentified drones under certain conditions.
What distinguishes the Berlin incidents of March 2026 from earlier drone disruptions is the explicit mention of a “glowing” object in the second incident—a description that is unusual in drone reports and raises the question of whether it was actually a commercially available device. The proximity to the Bundeswehr hangar lends both incidents additional security policy relevance.
The EU plans to deploy a partially operational anti-drone defense system at its external borders by the end of 2026. Whether—and to what extent—this system is also intended to protect domestic civilian airports remains unclear for now.
Although several European countries have now legally permitted the shooting down of unidentified drones under certain conditions, outside the context of the war in Ukraine, not a single such object has been shot down, recovered, or identified over Western European territory to date. What exactly is operating over European airports and military installations thus remains an open, uncomfortable question.