The appearance of an unidentified drone in the area of Palma de Mallorca airport led to the suspension of its operations for approximately 35 minutes on October 19.
Points of attention
- The appearance of an unidentified drone at Palma de Mallorca airport led to the suspension of operations for around 35 minutes, resulting in the diversion of eight flights.
- Security forces responded to the incident and searched the area, but found nothing suspicious, creating concern over the growing threat of drone-related disruptions at airports.
- The incident at Palma de Mallorca airport is part of a trend seen in other European countries, with a recent temporary closure of Munich Airport due to reports of unidentified drone sightings.
Drone causes panic in Mallorca
At least six aircrews reported seeing a drone in the area of the airport, also known as the Aéroport de Son-San Juan.
Flights had to be diverted to other airports due to the incident. Air navigation service Enaire confirmed that operations had been suspended for safety reasons.
The situation continued until traffic was restored. As a result, eight flights were diverted.
Security forces went to the area of the incident and, after checking with their own drone, reported that they did not find anything suspicious.
The incident occurred on a day with very heavy air traffic at Mallorca's main airport, when 892 landings and takeoffs were scheduled.
At least several flights bound for Mallorca were diverted to Ibiza, Menorca and Barcelona.
Palma de Mallorca Airport is an international airport located 8 km east of the city of Palma. It is the third largest airport in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona.
Recall that in recent weeks, a number of European countries, and Norway in particular, have reported flights of unidentified drones near airports and military facilities. Munich Airport was temporarily closed on the evening of October 18 after reports of unidentified drones.
