Denmark reels from second drone attack in a week disrupting flights

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By Christian Wienberg and Sanne Wass

 

Denmark endured the second drone attack this week as authorities probe Russian involvement in an earlier incident.

Large professional drones spotted at five regional airports in Denmark disrupted flights and sparked a major police operation. The airports are open now.

 

The events follow a four-hour shutdown Monday night at Copenhagen airport, Scandinavia’s busiest, which Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described as a  “serious attack” on Danish critical infrastructure. She indicated Russia may have been behind that incident. 

 

Air traffic at Denmark’s third-largest airport in Aalborg was temporarily suspended late Wednesday while drones also were spotted at three smaller airfields, the police said in a statement on Thursday. It ruled out hobby drones operated by private individuals as a cause.

 

Billund Airport, Denmark’s second-largest, was also closed briefly early Thursday morning over reports of possible drone activity, TV2 reported, citing the police. 

 

The incidents are the latest to show the vulnerability transport hubs face to outside interference. A cyberattack on a key airline check-in system snarled travel at major European airports over the weekend, forcing staff to process passengers manually, triggering delays and cancellations. 

 

Danish authorities have now started an “intense investigation” together with Denmark’s armed forces and the intelligence agency, according to the police. 

 

The drones at Aalborg disappeared shortly before 1 a.m. local time on Thursday, after circling around the airport for more than three hours, police said. The shutdown of the airspace led to the diversion of four flights, a spokesperson told DR.

 

Drones were also spotted at airports in Esbjerg and Sonderborg, as well as the Skrydstrup Air Base, a military area used for maintenance work on fighter jets. The smaller airports didn’t have any scheduled flights overnight,