Germany closed the airspace over the city of Hanover late on Friday after drones were spotted, disrupting flight operations, a spokesman for the airport said.

The closure lasted from 9:47 p.m. to 12:16 a.m. local time, the spokesman said, adding that seven aircraft were affected and diverted to alternative airports including Paderborn, Bremen, Duesseldorf and Frankfurt.

Two flights were unable to land during the closure and therefore could not depart on Saturday morning, he said. The flights, bound for Frankfurt and Paris, were cancelled.