Flights were halted at the Munich airport on Sunday evening after workers reported the smell of smoke in the control tower, an airport spokesman told AFP.

The tower was evacuated as a precaution and take-offs and landings were stopped from 8:33 pm (1833 GMT), the spokesman said.

The workers reported an "intense smell", but responding firefighters found neither fire nor smoke in the tower, and authorities are investigating the cause of the odour, the spokesman added.

Munich is Germany's second-busiest airport after Frankfurt.

It remained unclear when air traffic would resume. The local fire brigade and the police responsible for the airport did not immediately respond to inquiries from AFP.