On the evening of 27 October, a drone was spotted near Alicante International Airport in Spain. The incident forced the airport to temporarily suspend all arrivals and departures, DW reports, citing a statement from the management of Miguel Hernández Airport.

It is not the first time that drones have been documented over Spanish airports. On 20 October, The Mirror reported that it was detected in the airspace above Palma de Mallorca Airport.

The attack caused chaos for thousands of passengers, as all flights were suspended. Due to the emergency halt, at least 12 flights were redirected to other airports across Spain.

 

Airport in darkness: operations halted

After the drone was detected, several flights were redirected to nearby airports.

According to the Spanish news agency EFE, the unmanned aerial vehicle was seen close to the runway, prompting authorities to close the airport in line with safety protocols until they could confirm there were no other unidentified objects in the area.

Routes changed: flights redirected to neighboring airports

The airport resumed operations about two hours later, around 11:00 p.m. local time. Spain’s airport and air navigation authority AENA said that ten flights from Amsterdam, Lanzarote, Manchester, Liverpool, London, Newcastle, Paris, Kraków, and Frankfurt-Hahn were diverted to airports in Valencia, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, and Barcelona.

Investigation and technology trace the source

Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police launched an investigation to determine who launched the drone and from where. The National Police deployed experts from its drone detection unit to the Torrellano area near the airport, using the AeroScope system — a technology capable of detecting, tracking, and neutralizing drones in restricted airspace.

Earlier, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is fighting not only against Ukraine — he is attacking all of Europe. He has unleashed a hybrid war against Germany and is trying to undermine Europe's political order. 

Merz added that the growing number of drone attacks in Germany and across Europe is part of Russia’s effort to intimidate the West.