Drone sightings disrupt flights at Copenhagen, Oslo airports

Copenhagen Airport, the Nordic region’s busiest hub, resumed operations early on Sept. 23 after drone activity forced a nearly four-hour suspension of all departures and arrivals. Around the same time, Oslo Airport in Norway also shut its airspace due to a drone sighting.

“The police have launched an intensive investigation to determine what kind of drones these are,” Copenhagen Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jakob Hansen told reporters. “The drones disappeared, and none have been recovered,” he added. Authorities in both Denmark and Norway will work together to see if the incidents are connected.

Oslo Airport closed its airspace from midnight, diverting all flights to nearby airports, according to Avinor, Norway’s airport operator.

In Denmark, police said two or three large drones were spotted near Copenhagen Airport on Sept. 22, prompting a full closure at 8:26 p.m. local time. FlightRadar reported that about 50 flights were diverted before operations resumed. The airport later warned of ongoing delays and cancellations.

These shutdowns add to recent turmoil at European airports. On Sept. 19, a cyberattack disabled check-in and boarding systems from Collins Aerospace, disrupting travel at Heathrow, Berlin, and Brussels. The disruptions spilled over into the following days.

Drone sightings have caused similar chaos before — most notably in 2018, when drones over London’s Gatwick Airport stranded tens of thousands of travelers and canceled hundreds of flights during peak holiday season.