COPENHAGEN – The strange drone sightings in Denmark persisted on Wednesday. They caused four regional airports to close and raised concerns about the safety of the country’s transportation network. Two days before this happened, Copenhagen Airport, the busiest airport in Scandinavia, had a similar four-hour shutdown.
Late on Wednesday, plane traffic at Aalborg Airport, Denmark’s third-largest, was stopped after drones were seen flying about the airport for more than three hours. Police also confirmed that people saw them at three smaller airports: Sønderborg, Esbjerg, and Skrydstrup. Several aircraft were rerouted because of the events.
Danish police are working with the armed forces and the intelligence agency on a “intense investigation.” Officials have said that the drones are “large” and not the kind that hobbyists use, which means that a “capable actor” is behind the events.
The most recent sightings came after a similar event at Copenhagen Airport on Monday, which the police said was done by a “capable actor.” Mette Frederiksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, said that the closure on Monday was a “serious attack” on the country’s important infrastructure.
The repeated events show how easy it is for outside forces to mess with transportation hubs. This new surge in drone activity happened at the same time as a cyberattack on a major airline check-in system over the weekend. This attack also caused substantial delays and cancellations at several European airports.
Police say they are working with authorities from other countries on their investigation. Similar occurrences have happened in Norway and other European countries in the past few weeks, which has raised fears about “hybrid attacks” that are planned and carried out by many groups.