The airport in Nuremberg was temporarily closed on Tuesday following reports of an emergency in the air, police confirmed. The closure followed immediately before the scheduled landing of a flight from the Greek island of Crete.
A Corendon Airlines aircraft, flight XQ456, was due to arrive at 12:15, with data from Flightradar24 showing it landed safely at 12:16. The airport authority confirmed that the aircraft had landed safely, but flights remained suspended while police secured the area. The aircraft was escorted by Eurofighter jets, the airport authority confirmed.
Police initially stated that an emergency was suspected during the flight, but this had not yet been officially confirmed. The airport’s official website stated: 'Due to an emergency during the flight, air traffic is currently suspended.' It is not known how many police officers were present at the scene.
Several aircraft scheduled to land were diverted to Frankfurt, Memmingen, Stuttgart, and Munich. According to unofficial reports, specialist units were also deployed to the airport.
Later, police announced that the threat had passed. They stated on social media platform X: 'Checks on the ground confirmed there was no danger.'
Air traffic in Nuremberg had been disrupted the previous night, when a possible drone was spotted. According to police, three pilots independently reported an unknown object during take-off or landing, and it is suspected that it was a drone. The object was observed between 2 and 4 am.
The border police inspection at the airport immediately, in coordination with Albrecht Dürer Airport and German air traffic control, launched search and detection measures. A police helicopter also participated in the search, but the drone was not found.
Nuremberg is the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, after the state capital Munich.
