By TV84.pk News Desk | September 23, 2025
COPENHAGEN – Copenhagen Airport (KBHL.CO), the Nordic region’s busiest hub, resumed operations early Tuesday after drone sightings forced a nearly four-hour shutdown, stranding flights and passengers. Norway’s Oslo Airport also reopened its airspace following a similar drone-related closure, prompting joint investigations by Danish and Norwegian authorities amid a wave of European aviation disruptions.
Drone Disruptions Across Scandinavia
Danish police reported two or three large drones spotted near Copenhagen Airport on Monday evening, leading to a full halt of take-offs and landings starting at 8:26 pm local time (18:26 GMT). Flight tracking service FlightRadar noted around 50 flights diverted to alternate airports. Operations resumed around midnight, but the airport warned on X of ongoing delays and potential cancellations, advising passengers to contact airlines.
In Norway, Oslo Airport’s airspace was closed from midnight (22:00 GMT) Monday due to a drone sighting, with all flights rerouted. Avinor, the Norwegian airport operator, confirmed reopening by 3:22 am local time (01:22 GMT). “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 have disappeared, and we have not taken any of them.”
Hansen announced collaboration between Danish and Norwegian authorities to probe possible links between the incidents, raising concerns over coordinated threats to regional aviation security.
Broader European Airport Woes
The shutdowns follow a series of disruptions plaguing European airports. Last Friday, a cyberattack targeted check-in and boarding systems from Collins Aerospace (a unit of RTX), crippling operations at London’s Heathrow, Berlin, and Brussels airports. The fallout lingered over the weekend, causing widespread delays into Monday.
Echoing past scares, the incidents recall the 2018 Gatwick Airport crisis near London, where drone sightings over the runway stranded tens of thousands of passengers and canceled hundreds of flights during peak holiday travel.
Implications for Air Travel
With Copenhagen handling over 30 million passengers annually, the brief closure underscores vulnerabilities in Europe’s airspace to low-tech threats like drones. Authorities are urging heightened vigilance, while travelers face ripple effects from diversions and backlogs. As investigations unfold, questions loom about the drones’ origins—hobbyist errors, protests, or something more sinister?
Stay tuned to TV84.pk for updates on the drone probes and European travel disruptions.
