Drone Sightings Disrupt Flights at Copenhagen and Oslo Airports Amidst Heightened Regional Tensions
Copenhagen airport briefly closed its airspace on Monday due to the sighting of ”unidentified drones,” before reopening later in the evening. Concurrently, Oslo Airport in Norway has suspended flights after a similar drone observation prompted a closure of its airspace.
Copenhagen airport initially announced the airspace closure due to the presence of two to three unidentified drones.Airport spokeswoman Lise Agerley Kurstein reported that approximately 15 flights were diverted to alternative airports during the disruption.
According to Copenhagen police, “three or four big drones” were observed flying over the airport. Duty officer Anette Ostenfeldt stated at 10:45pm local time (20:45 GMT) that the drones were “still flying back and forth, coming and going,” and that police were investigating. Ostenfeldt noted the drones appeared larger then those typically available for private use.
Oslo Airport also halted operations from midnight local time (2200 GMT) following a drone sighting, with all flights being diverted to the nearest available airport, according to a statement from Avinor, the Norwegian airport operator.
These incidents occur against a backdrop of reported airspace violations by Russia in several European countries in recent days.Estonia reported three Russian mig-31 fighter jets entering its airspace without permission on Friday. Poland stated that approximately 19 drones crossed into its airspace during a Russian air strike on Ukraine the previous week, with Polish and NATO forces intercepting some of them – the first instances of Russian drones being downed over NATO territory since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Romania also reported a Russian drone in its airspace.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) convened on Monday to discuss these airspace violations. Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, denied allegations that Russian fighter jets had violated Estonian airspace, claiming Friday’s flight of three MiG-31 aircraft adhered “strictly to international airspace regulations.” The Russian Ministry of Defense supported this assertion, stating that “objective monitoring” confirmed the MiGs did not cross Estonian borders.
However, NATO allies at the UNSC meeting condemned Russia’s alleged airspace violations.UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warned, “Your reckless actions risk direct armed confrontation between NATO and Russia.our alliance is defensive, but be under no illusion we stand ready to defend NATO’s skies and NATO’s territory.”
NATO’s North Atlantic Council is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to further discuss the situation.
