New incident at Leipzig Airport: Fence rammed near Russian cargo aircraft
Kyiv • UNN
An unknown vehicle damaged the fence at Leipzig/Halle Airport near Russian An-124s. The camera was switched off, and the police did not find the vehicle.
In Germany, unknown individuals rammed through the fence of Leipzig Airport near Russian cargo aircraft. The surveillance camera did not record the damage to the Leipzig Airport fence—it was switched off, reports UNN, citing Bild.
Details
As BILD has learned, at Leipzig/Halle Airport, unknown individuals, apparently in a vehicle, broke through the fence near the parking area for Russian An-124 cargo aircraft. The damage was discovered the previous evening at around 11:00 p.m. After the incident, the northern runway was closed and flights were redirected to the southern one.
Federal and state police officers arrived at the scene. The airport grounds were searched, but neither the vehicle nor any outsiders could be found.
According to police spokesperson Theresa Leverenz, the theory that a vehicle rammed the fence is considered the most likely. Three Russian An-124s have been at the airport since 2022 and cannot take off because of European Union sanctions.
In addition
At Leipzig/Halle Airport, the camera installed near the site where the fence was damaged did not record what happened because it was switched off. Late in the evening of October 17, an unidentified vehicle apparently rammed the airport fence; however, according to BILD, police have still found neither the vehicle nor any outsiders.
Airport representatives explained that the 360-degree camera installed in this area is intended not for continuous security surveillance, but to monitor aircraft movements. It is switched on manually only when necessary.
According to the administration, the airport complies with all aviation security requirements, but providing round-the-clock video surveillance along the entire 40-kilometre perimeter is difficult. At the same time, three Russian An-124 cargo aircraft are parked approximately 1.7 kilometres from the scene; they have been prohibited from taking off since 2022 because of EU sanctions.
Context
This is not the first incident at Leipzig Airport. At the beginning of August, a drone carrying explosives was found near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft. German authorities blamed Russia for the alleged attempted attack and warned of the threat of further hybrid attacks on critical infrastructure. Moscow rejected the accusations.