An international airport had to cease operations after drones were sighted nearby, leading to significant disruptions on Monday evening. Up to three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were reportedly observed in the airspace above Copenhagen Airport in Denmark, prompting a large police presence in the area, as stated by Henrik Stormer, the head of the Copenhagen Police. The airport was closed for take-offs and landings around 8:30 pm local time, according to Naviair, the company responsible for air traffic control at the airport. FlightRadar on Twitter reported that by 10:05 pm local time, more than 35 flights destined for Copenhagen Airport had been redirected to other airports due to the drone activity.
A social media update from the local police indicated that the airport was currently not allowing aircraft to take off or land due to the presence of 2-3 large drones in the vicinity, with no specified timeframe for when normal operations would resume. Most of the redirected flights were rerouted to Malmö, Billund, Aarhus, and Gothenburg, while the drones’ origin remains unknown.
A spokesperson from Copenhagen Airport confirmed that the airspace above the airport had been closed due to unidentified drones and mentioned that the authorities were investigating the incident without a set timeline for reopening. This development follows a recent incident in May where a passenger jet narrowly avoided colliding with a drone, which appeared large enough to significantly obstruct the plane’s windshield shortly after takeoff from London’s Heathrow Airport.
In a separate occurrence in January, a drone came within close proximity of colliding with a Boeing 737 airliner on approach to Gatwick Airport, with investigators attributing the lack of a serious incident to fortunate circumstances. The official report detailed how the drone passed within 10-20 meters on the right-hand side of the aircraft without allowing sufficient time for evasive maneuvers.