A major European airport had to temporarily close one of its runways due to an unusual incident, as reported by the police. The Polderbaan runway at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam was shut down for 45 minutes around 12:10 pm because a drone was flying at an altitude of approximately 150 meters. Plane enthusiasts listening to a live stream on YouTube heard a Transavia pilot mentioning that the drone was about 50 meters away from his aircraft.
This event triggered a police operation involving a helicopter, but neither the drone nor its operator could be found. A spokesperson for the Royal Marechaussee, the military police, described the situation as “quite unique,” suggesting that the drone operator was likely flying the device as a recreational hobby.
Authorities believe the drone involved was relatively small, and they confirmed that air traffic was not endangered by the incident. Nonetheless, the closure of the Polderbaan runway led to the rerouting of planes to another runway for safety reasons, according to a statement from the Royal Marechaussee to RTL Nieuws.
While this particular drone incident seems to have had harmless intentions, there have been more concerning occurrences in other European countries recently. The Danish Defence Ministry reported sightings of drones near several Danish defense facilities. These new drone sightings occurred overnight from Friday into Saturday, following previous sightings that had caused temporary closures at Danish airports.
Local media outlets revealed that one or more drones were spotted near or above the Karup Air Base, Denmark’s largest military base. The defense ministry did not confirm these sightings, citing operational security and ongoing investigations as reasons for withholding further details on the drone incidents.
Tensions have escalated in Denmark due to the ongoing drone activity, with numerous unconfirmed sightings reported by concerned citizens. Authorities have urged the public to report any suspicious activities to the police promptly.
Reports indicated that drones were seen inside and outside the perimeter of the Karup air base around 8 pm on Friday, as mentioned by Simon Skelkjær, the duty manager at the Central and West Jutland Police. Although the airspace was briefly closed to civil air traffic during this time, it had minimal impact as there was no civilian aviation activity in Karup at that moment.
The series of unexplained drone activities, including incidents at several Danish airports and Copenhagen Airport, have raised security concerns in northern Europe amid heightened tensions related to increased Russian aggression.