Another drone incident in Denmark. The airspace over Aalborg airport was temporarily closed overnight due to drone sightings, police said. Drones were also reported over the airports in Esbjerg, Sønderborg, and Skridstrup Air Base, where F-16 and F-35 fighter jets are stationed.
Aalborg airport is also used by the Danish armed forces, so they were also affected by the closure, according to reports overnight. According to Danish media DR and TV 2, the head of the police operation, Jesper Boegård, stated that several drones were spotted at 9:44 p.m. It was not until a few hours later that the order was given that the area was now clear.
Local police have launched an investigation, assisted by the national intelligence service and the army. Boegård announced that if an opportunity arises and it is safe, action will be taken to shoot down the drones.
It is unclear what these drones are and what they were doing there
The exact number of drones and their size are unknown. "It is still too early to say what the purpose of these drones is and who is behind them," another police officer said. However, National Police Commissioner Torkild Fogde announced at a late-night press conference that the incident in Aalborg strongly resembles the one in Copenhagen a few days ago. A similar pattern has been observed - the drones were flying with their lights on and were clearly visible.
Police say there is no danger to passengers at Aalborg Airport. Three flights have been diverted to other airports, and one arriving and two departing flights have been cancelled. Fogde added that since Monday many people in the country have reported drone sightings, some of which are being monitored by police and the military.
Police and military are investigating the incident
Two days earlier, the country's main airport - in the capital Copenhagen - was closed for four hours because of drones - about 100 flights were cancelled and tens of thousands of passengers were affected.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the incident as – the most serious attack on Denmark's critical infrastructure–. It is still not clear who was behind it. The airport in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, was also closed due to unidentified drones flying overhead.
Frederiksen does not rule out Russian interference. Denmark supports Ukraine financially, militarily and politically in the war against Russia's full-scale invasion. A few days ago, the Ukrainian army released a video that it claims shows F-16 fighter jets in action against Russia. Denmark is among the countries that provide these aircraft, which are considered valuable to Ukraine.
Numerous civil aviation violations
Aalborg Airport is much smaller than the capital's Copenhagen airport. According to the airport's website, the last flight from Copenhagen was scheduled to arrive at 11:50 p.m., and the first flight back to the capital was scheduled for 6:20 a.m.
Just this weekend, a cyberattack on an IT provider disrupted the operations of several major European airports. In mid-September, drones were also detected in Polish airspace, and a few days later, Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace. NATO blames Russia for all these provocations. Moscow denies it.