Operations at Copenhagen Airport (EKCH) were significantly disrupted on Monday night when two or three large drones were seen flying close to the airfield. More than 30 flights had to be diverted to airports including Billund, Aarhus, Malmo, and Gothenburg as Danish authorities investigated what is widely believed to have been the latest Russian military incursion into NATO-protected airspace.
The incident at Copenhagen Airport lasted approximately from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. local time. There was a similar disruption at Norway’s Oslo Airport (ENGM) after drone sightings over a three-hour period, and Europe-based consultancy Dyami Security Intelligence is warning aircraft operators to expect more threats to operations.
Danish officials indicated that they opted not to shoot down the drones out of concern that the use of military firepower could result in collateral damage to passengers and key facilities, such as fuel farms. According to a senior police investigator, the drone flight patterns around the airport appeared to be intended as a demonstration of the perpetrator’s capabilities, with the conclusion being that the incident had been staged by “a capable actor.”
According to Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, the incident was “the most serious attack on Danish critical infrastructure to date.” Her Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Støre, accused Russia of repeatedly violating the country’s airspace in recent months. The latest incidents happened shortly after similar airspace violations in Poland and Estonia.
According to Dyami, European governments and airport authorities are stepping up security measures to more quickly and effectively respond to airspace incursions. These measures could include increased use of geofencing technology, more authority granted to neutralize drones, and requirements for aircraft operators to refine flight diversion and passenger management procedures to mitigate operational disruption.
“At a strategic level, a continuation of drone incidents combined with uncertainty over U.S. security commitments towards the European Union may drive the latter and NATO members in general to seek greater U.S. support to accelerate their own security measures for airspace protection, which is increasingly seen as vulnerable,” concluded Dyami’s analysts. “Incidents involving drones causing flight disruptions are expected to continue in the upcoming weeks, given recent patterns, requiring stakeholders in the aviation field to make plans and expect situational changes on short notice.”