Flights suspended after World War 2 bomb discovered at Dusseldorf Airport
Forty-one flights have been affected
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
A World War II bomb has been destroyed in a controlled explosion after being discovered at Düsseldorf Airport, forcing flights to be suspended.
Two departures and five arrival flights were cancelled on Monday while the 275-pound bomb was destroyed, according to Associated Press.
Overall 41 flights were affected and delays are to be processed throughout the day, Germany's Bild reported.
After being found overnight authorities decided to dispose of the bomb at the site, located away from the airport’s runway.
Sandbags were heaped around the site to dampen the force of the blast, DPA news agency reported.
The airport said over Facebook that experts destroyed the bomb at around 8:43 am.
Flights were suspended for roughly an hour before the detonation and resumed shortly after.
Unexploded bombs dating back to World War II are still commonly found in Germany.
Many local authorities have full-time teams in place to detect and diffuse them.
In 2011 45,000 people were forced to leave areas of Koblenz for the disposal of an unexpected Allied bomb in the largest evacuation of its kind in Germany since the end of the war, DPA reports.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments