Denmark’s Aalborg airport closed due to drones, two days after Copenhagen incursion

Denmark’s Aalborg airport is currently closed due to drones in its airspace, local police say early on Thursday, two days after the country’s main Copenhagen airport was shut over drone sightings that rattled European aviation.

Danish national police say the drones followed a similar pattern to the ones that had halted flights at Copenhagen airport for four hours a few days earlier. The country’s armed forces are also affected, as Aalborg airport is used as a military base, they add.

Denmark said on Tuesday the incident at Copenhagen airport was the most serious attack yet on its critical infrastructure and linked it to a series of suspected Russian drone incursions and other disruptions across Europe.

Authorities in Norway also shut the airspace at Oslo airport for three hours on Monday evening after a drone was seen.

Northern Jutland police tells reporters that “more than one drone” had been sighted near Aalborg airport and they were flying with lights on.

The drones were first sighted at about 9:44 p.m. local time on Wednesday, according to police, and remained in the airspace at the time of the press briefing at 12:05 a.m. on Thursday.

Northern Jutland police say they cannot specify the type of drones or whether they were the same as the ones flying over Copenhagen airport on Monday.

“It is too early to say what the goal of the drones is and who is the actor behind,” a police official says.

Eurocontrol, which oversees European air traffic control, says arrivals and departures at Aalborg airport will be at a “zero rate” until 4 a.m. GMT on Thursday due to drone activity in the vicinity.

Police say they are investigating further on site and there is no danger to passengers at the airport or residents in the area.

They add that three flights had been diverted to other airports.