Frankfurt Airport resumes flights after drone sighting
May 9, 2019
All flights in and out of Germany's busiest airport had been halted on Thursday morning after a drone was spotted. Police said the issue had been resolved, but declined to give further details.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. May
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The operator of Frankfurt airport, Fraport, said air traffic had resumed after a drone sighting.
Flights at Germany's busiest hub had been grounded for around an hour on Thursday morning.
Around 70 flights were cancelled due to the drone sighting, an airport spokesperson confirmed to news agency AFP.
Frankfurt police have launched an investigation and are using a helicopter to determine the reason for the disturbance to the airport.
Frankfurt Airport is Germany's biggest airport and it's busiest passenger hub — serving over 64 million passengers in 2017.
As drones have become more popular and more easily accessible, they pose a serious problem for airports which are testing new measures to ensure air traffic safety.
Last year, the German air traffic control group DFS saw a massive spike in the number of disruptions due to drones. They logged 158 disruptions in 2018, compared to 88 in 2017. Most of the disruptions hit Frankfurt, followed by Berlin's Tegel Airport.
In Germany, it is illegal to fly drones over airport runways, large gatherings, hospitals, prisons and train tracks. In areas where they are allowed, drones are not permitted to fly higher than 100 meters (328 feet). There are certain exceptions for devices that are flown on special airfields for model airplanes.
Faced with the risk of drones being used to snoop, or carry out attacks on French soil, the air force is showing its claws, training fearsome golden eagles to take out unmanned aircraft in mid-flight.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
D'Artagnan attacks the enemy
Since mid-2016, d'Artagnan has been trained to target potential aerial threats. The other trained birds at the Mont-de-Marsan airbase are called Athos, Porthos and Aramis, all characters from Alexandre Dumas', "The Three Musketeers."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
French air force is showing its claws
Some 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Bordeaux, Mont-de-Marsan is one of five air bases in France that uses falconry. Usually, the birds of prey are kept to scare other birds away from the runway. This reduces the risk of accidents during takeoff or landing. But with France on high alert since January 2015, after a string of terrorist attacks, they have now been appointed drone hunters.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Mission accomplished for d'Artagnan
Within 20 seconds the raptor has the drone between its talons. It pins it to the ground and covers it with its broad wings. Police in the Netherlands were the first to come up with the idea of using raptors to catch drones, introducing bald eagles into the service in late 2015.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Meat served on a drone
Eagles are fast, reaching speeds of up to 80 km (50 miles) per hour. Hatched in captivity, the four "musketeers" were served food atop wrecked drones from the age of three weeks. This taught the birds to seize remotely piloted aircraft for food. Now, when they hear a buzzing drone, their hunting instinct kicks in. Their falconer rewards successful interceptions with a hunk of meat.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Drone hunting
The French army followed suit last year, but opted for the golden eagle. These birds are natural-born killers with hooked beaks, amber eyes and a wingspan of up to 2.2 meters (seven feet). Like all birds of prey, the golden eagle has excellent eyesight and is capable of spotting its target from two kilometers away.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
Unusual prey
The golden eagle has powerful feet, that are feathered all the way to the toes and large, sharp talons to snatch up a variety of prey. This is usually rabbits, squirrels or hares. But in Mont-de Marsan they go for drones.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Gobet
The Army cares for its comrades
To prevent the birds from harming themselves, the military has designed mittens made of leather and Kevlar, an anti-blast material, to protect their talons. "I love these birds," their falconer says. "I don't want to send them to their deaths." The falconer cautions against setting "impossible" tasks for birds, such as launching them against larger drones with potentially deadly propellers.
