Police announced that airports in Copenhagen and Oslo have reopened on Tuesday, hours after unidentified drones in their airspace caused flight diversions and significant travel disruptions.
In the Danish capital, Copenhagen, police reported that several large drones were seen over the airport for several hours late on Monday before eventually flying away on their own. “The drones have disappeared, and the airport is open again,” Deputy Police Inspector Jakob Hansen told reporters. He added, “We didn’t take the drones down.” Hansen said police are now cooperating with the Danish military and intelligence service to determine where the drones came from.
He also mentioned that they are working with their counterparts in Oslo, where drone sightings also forced the Norwegian capital’s airport to close for several hours. “We had two different drone sightings,” Oslo airport spokeswoman Monica Fasting told AFP. “We reopened the airport around 3:15 am (6:15 am PKT),” she said.
During the closures, flights were diverted to nearby destinations, and officials at both airports warned that some delays and disruptions are expected to continue on Tuesday. These incidents follow accusations by the governments of Poland, Estonia, and Romania that Russia violated their airspace this month, allegations that Moscow has dismissed. When asked if the drones over Copenhagen could have originated from Russia, Hansen stated, “We don’t know at this point.”
Danish police also concluded that the drones appeared to have been flown by “a capable operator” aiming to demonstrate their abilities, though no suspects have been identified. “We have concluded that this was what we would call a capable operator,” Danish Police Chief Superintendent Jens Jespersen told reporters. “It’s an actor who has the capabilities, the will, and the tools to show off in this way,” Jespersen said, adding that it is too early to say if the incidents in Denmark and Norway are connected.
