Danish police reported early on Thursday that “more than one” drones had been spotted close to the Jutland region’s airport, which is Denmark’s fourth-largest city by population, near Aalborg airport.
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A number of large, unidentified drones were spotted close to one of Scandinavia’s busiest airports on Monday, prompting police to say the drone sightings in Aalborg followed a pattern similar to the ones that temporarily halted flights at Copenhagen Airport for four hours on Monday.
Due to its use as a military base, Danish armed forces were impacted by the closure of Aalborg airport, according to police.
A police official told the Reuters news agency, “It is too early to say what the drones’ intentions are and who is the actor behind them.” He added that authorities would try to remove them as soon as they could.
The Danish armed forces did not go on to further comment, but instead stated that they were helping local and national police with the investigation.
Later on Thursday morning, police announced that the drones had left Aalborg’s airspace and had also been reported in the vicinity of airports in the west of the country, including Esbjerg, Sonderborg, and Skrydstrup.
The F-16 and F-35 fighter jets from Denmark’s base in southern Jutland are called “basis” at Fighter Wing Skrydstrup.
De uidentificerede droner som blev observeret i det nordjyske stört sig ikke lngere over Aalborg Lufthavn. En heightened efterforskning, police will be looking for all oplysninger i say henvende sig p 114. #politidk https://t.co/sU3Azw8amD
Translation: The unidentified drones that were spotted in northern Jutland are no longer operating over Aalborg Airport. The police are conducting an in-depth investigation, and they want to speak with anyone with information about the case by dialing 114.
Northern Jutland police claimed that “more than one drone” had been seen flying with lights on near the Aalborg airport.
According to police, the drones were first spotted on Wednesday night around 9:44 p.m. [19:44 GMT] and remained in the airspace for a while.
Due to drone activity in the area, Eurocontrol, which manages European air traffic control, announced arrivals and departures at Aalborg Airport would be “zero rate” until 04:00 GMT on Thursday.
Police in Northern Jutland were unable to specify the kind of drones or whether they were identical to those that were seen over Copenhagen Airport on Monday.
Authorities in Denmark attributed the incident at Copenhagen Airport to a number of alleged Russian drone incursions and other disruptions throughout Europe, calling it the most serious attack on the country’s critical infrastructure.
Following a drone sighting, Norwegian authorities temporarily closed the Oslo airport’s airspace for three hours on Monday evening.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated in a statement on Tuesday that she “cannot in any way reject the possibility that Russia” is to blame for the incident at Copenhagen Airport.
The European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, stated on social media that “while the facts are still being established, it is obvious we are witnessing a pattern of persistent contestation at our borders.”
She claimed that “our crucial infrastructure is in danger.” And Europe will be strong and determined in overcoming this threat.
Russian drones are “guided by international regulations in all their flights and do not violate them in any way,” according to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin.
Poland’s military reported that after Russian drones repeatedly violated Polish airspace, it closed four of its airports, including one in Warsaw, earlier this month.
In the wake of the drone attack in Poland, NATO members have pledged to strengthen their borders while reaffirming their allegiance.
Source: Aljazeera
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