Denmark’s Aalborg Airport was temporarily closed late Sept. 25 after drones were spotted in the airspace, marking the third such incident in a month.
Airport officials said passenger safety remained their top priority, and flights were diverted or canceled after staff reported the suspicious objects. Flight KL1289 returned to Amsterdam, while SK1225 from Copenhagen was canceled.
“We closed the airspace at 11:40 p.m. One of our employees noticed the object after we had been working with reinforced staffing all day,” said Kristian Thilsted, duty officer with North Jutland Police.
Copenhagen police said they received hundreds of calls from residents reporting possible drones.
Duty officer Jesper Frandsen noted that each report is being checked, though media attention has triggered a spike in sightings, some of which turn out to be aircraft or even bright stars. Authorities urged witnesses to capture video of any suspicious objects to aid investigations.
Earlier this week, drones prompted temporary shutdowns at Copenhagen’s Kastrup Airport and Oslo Airport. Danish officials said they are investigating the source and ownership of the drones, calling the incidents a serious threat to aviation safety.
Aalborg Airport has since reopened but warned it could close again if drones reappear.
Denmark on Thursday said drone flights over its airports this week were part of “hybrid attacks” to create fear, adding it would acquire new capabilities to intercept such aircraft, as Russia denied involvement.
Police said drones flew over several airports across the country and caused one of them to close for hours, after a similar incident early this week prompted Copenhagen airport to shut down.
That followed a similar incident in Norway, drone incursions in Polish and Romanian territory, and the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian fighter jets, which raised tensions in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
“Over recent days, Denmark has been the victim of hybrid attacks,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a video message on social media -- referring to a novel form of largely unconventional warfare.
She warned that such drone flights “could multiply”.
Investigators said they had so far failed to identify those responsible, but Frederiksen stressed: “There is one main country that poses a threat to Europe’s security, and it is Russia.”
Moscow said Thursday it “firmly rejects” any suggestion that it was involved in the Danish incidents. Its embassy in Copenhagen called them “a staged provocation”, in a post on social media.