Another airport in Denmark was forced to close Thursday evening (25/9), following a second alarm within two nights over drones, with Copenhagen authorities referring to an unknown origin “hybrid attack” since the beginning of the week. It should be recalled that unmanned aircraft were spotted Wednesday night into Thursday near the airports of Aalborg, Esbjerg, Sønderborg and Skrydstrup. This was preceded by a multi-hour suspension of Copenhagen International Airport’s operations on Monday evening for the same reason.
Denmark: Another airport closed due to drone presence
Specifically, on Thursday (25/9) the airspace above Aalborg airport in northern Denmark was temporarily closed due to the alarm, before reopening around 00:35 (local time, 01:00 Greek time), as announced by Danish police. The airport closure forced a flight from Amsterdam to turn back and caused the cancellation of a Scandinavian Airlines flight that was to depart from Copenhagen, according to flight tracking websites and airline websites.
Prime minister denounced “hybrid attacks”
At this stage, authorities have not officially announced the presence of unmanned aircraft. Since Monday, incidents in the country’s airspace have multiplied. On Thursday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounced “hybrid attacks” and warned that unmanned aerial vehicle overflights “may multiply.” Danish authorities have not yet determined the origin of these aircraft. However, “there is mainly one country that represents a threat to Europe’s security, namely Russia,” Frederiksen stated. Russia categorically denies any involvement and its embassy in Copenhagen denounced an “orchestrated provocation.”
France ready to assist in securing airspace
Following a conversation with the prime minister, French President Emmanuel Macron declared himself ready “to contribute to Denmark’s airspace security.” France is prepared to help protect Denmark’s air sovereignty following recent drone violations near the country’s airports. “I expressed France’s full solidarity with Denmark after the repeated intrusions of unidentified drones that affected Copenhagen airport operations,” the French president posted on platform X late Thursday evening.
