Drone sightings shut down Copenhagen Airport, dozens of flights diverted

Air traffic at Copenhagen Airport, the busiest in Scandinavia, was halted after police reported multiple drone sightings in the area, forcing dozens of flights to divert.

Copenhagen Police said on Monday night that two to three large drones were seen in the area, prompting an immediate suspension of operations. Authorities did not say how long the closure would last.

Flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported that all flights were halted starting at 8:26 p.m. local time. By 10:05 p.m., more than 35 inbound flights had been diverted to airports in Malmö, Billund, Aarhus, and Gothenburg.

One flight to Paris that had already left the gate returned to Copenhagen after more than two hours, Flightradar24 reported. Officials said the airfield was expected to remain closed until at least 1 a.m. local time.

A police spokesperson told Swedish broadcaster SVT that an officer had seen a drone flying over the sea between Denmark and Sweden shortly before 10 p.m.

Earlier in the evening, police in Oslo arrested two foreign nationals from Singapore for operating drones in a restricted zone that included Norway’s Akershus Fortress. It was not immediately clear whether the case was connected to the Copenhagen incident.

Copenhagen Airport is the busiest in Scandinavia, serving millions of passengers annually. It is a major hub for flights within Europe as well as long-haul routes to North America and Asia.