Germany narrowly avoided an aviation disaster over the summer after suspected pro-Russian saboteurs tried to sneak a parcel-bomb on a plane, it has emerged.

The targeted plane had been on the tarmac at a DHL logistics centre in Leipzig when a freight package caught fire, German newspaper Tagesspiegel reported.

By sheer coincidence the flight had been delayed, which meant that the package caught fire while the plane was still on the ground, German security officials said.

If the plane had been in the air when it had exploded it would have crashed, creating a major security incident in July that would have pushed Berlin and Moscow even closer to direct war.