An international airport had to shut down operations due to the presence of drones in the vicinity, causing significant disruptions on Monday evening. Reports indicated that up to three unmanned aerial vehicles were sighted in the airspace over Copenhagen Airport in Denmark, leading to a heightened police presence in the area. Henrik Stormer, the head of the Copenhagen Police, stated that a substantial police presence was deployed to address the situation.
The airport ceased take-offs and landings at approximately 8:26 pm local time, as confirmed by Naviair, the company responsible for air traffic control at the airport. FlightRadar’s post on Twitter mentioned that by 10:05 pm local time, over 35 flights destined for the airport had been redirected to alternative airports due to the drone activity.
A subsequent update indicated that a flight from Copenhagen to Paris had to return to the airport for further investigation into the reported drone sightings, with the airfield remaining closed until 2300 UTC. The local police also confirmed the closure of the airport for flight operations due to the presence of 2-3 large drones in the area, with an uncertain timeline for reopening.
A spokesperson from Copenhagen Airport verified the airspace closure, attributing it to unidentified drones. They mentioned ongoing police investigations and the lack of a definite timeline for resuming normal operations, emphasizing the necessity for the drones to be located and removed promptly.
The majority of diverted flights were rerouted to Malmö, Billund, Aarhus, and Gothenburg, while the origin of the drones remained undisclosed. A passenger expressed frustration over the situation, highlighting the lack of information provided by airport staff during the closure.
In a separate incident, additional drone sightings were reported in Oslo, Norway, near the Akershus Fortress, although any connection to the Copenhagen incident remained unclear. Media reports indicated that two individuals were apprehended in relation to the drones flown over the medieval castle.
Copenhagen Airport, the largest in the Nordic region, accommodated approximately 30 million passengers last year. The recent closure follows a near-collision incident in May, where a drone came close to a passenger jet departing from London’s Heathrow Airport, prompting concerns over aviation safety.
In another aviation scare in January, a drone narrowly avoided colliding with a Boeing 737 on approach to Gatwick Airport, with investigators attributing the incident’s outcome to luck. The incident underscores the growing challenges posed by unauthorized drone activity near airports.
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