Germany’s Munich airport has resumed operations after drone sightings led to the cancellation of 17 flights, the diversion of 15 others and the stranding of some 3,000 passengers.

Flights had restarted by early Friday, with flight tracking websites showing planes departing the airport at about 5:50am (03:50 GMT).

A spokesperson for German flag carrier Lufthansa said “flight operations have since resumed according to schedule”.

At least 19 Lufthansa flights were affected, either cancelled or re-routed, because of the airport suspension, the spokesperson added.

Earlier, the airport said that drone sightings were first reported by German air traffic control at 10:18pm local time [20:18 GMT] on Thursday, leading initially to a restriction on flights, which was then upgraded to a full suspension.

Germany’s DPA news agency said police reported that several people had seen a drone near the airport, with later sightings of a drone over the airport grounds.

Police helicopters were deployed, but “no information is available on the type and number of drones”, a police spokesperson told DPA.

Airline and airport staff set up camp beds and provided blankets and food to assist the almost 3,000 passengers affected by the flight cancellations and diversions, the airport said.

“When a drone is sighted, the safety of travellers is the top priority,” it added.

“It is important to emphasise that the detection and defence against drones are sovereign tasks and are the responsibility of the federal and state police,” it said.

The closure of Munich follows last week’s drone sightings that forced temporary closures at airports in Denmark and Norway.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen suggested that Russia could be responsible for the drone disruptions at multiple airports in her country.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, joked about European claims that Russian drones had invaded NATO airspace, saying that he promised he would not do it again, in the case of Denmark, and that he did not have drones that could fly all the way to Portugal’s capital Lisbon.

“I will not. I will not [send] any more drones, neither to France nor to Denmark, Copenhagen. Where else do they fly to?” Putin quipped.

“If we speak seriously, we do not have drones which can reach Lisbon,” he said.

European Union leaders backed plans on Wednesday to bolster the bloc’s defences against Russian drones as they met in the Danish capital, Copenhagen, days after the airspace intrusions by unidentified drones.

“Europe must be able to defend itself,” Prime Minister Frederiksen said after the EU summit.

“We need to strengthen our production of drones, of anti-drone capabilities, and this includes building up a European network of anti-drone measures that can protect and, of course, also neutralise intrusion from outside,” she said.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called last month for what she described as a drone wall – a network of sensors and weapons to detect, track and neutralise intruding unmanned aircraft – to protect Europe’s eastern flank.

Her suggestion came just hours after some 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace.

Moscow has denied responsibility for the reported drone incursion and has accused European countries of making false allegations to stir up tension. (Aljazeera)