Copenhagen and Oslo airports resumed operations on September 23, 2025, after drone sightings forced the suspension of air traffic the previous evening, according to police and airport officials.
Copenhagen airport closure
Copenhagen Airport (CPH) confirmed that all takeoffs and landings were halted from 20:26 local time (18:26 GMT) on September 22, 2025, after “three or four large drones” were reported flying near the facility. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 recorded at least 15 diversions to other airports during the four-hour closure.
Danish police later clarified that they were unable to confirm the exact number or type of drones, but suggested they were flown by a “capable operator” who may have wanted to “show off.” Police also confirmed that armed forces were activated in response, though there was no indication the drones were intended to cause harm.
At 01:32 local time on September 23, 2025, Copenhagen Airport said operations were resuming after the disruption, but warned of “delays and cancelled departures,” urging passengers to remain in contact with their airlines.
Danish authorities raise concerns
At a follow-up briefing in the morning of September 23, 2025, Copenhagen Police Director Anne Tønnes described the incident as “an attack” and stressed that authorities were treating it as “extremely serious.”
Flemming Drejer, operational chief at the Danish Police Intelligence Service (PET), said Denmark remained under a “high sabotage threat,” adding that sabotage might not always take the form of direct attacks but actions designed “to stress us out.”
“We have a massive presence out there, and you will be able to see that for a long time to come,” Drejer said, noting that PET, police, and the armed forces were all involved in the response.
Drejer also acknowledged that Russia was being monitored in connection with the case, though no specific actor was identified. Senior police inspector Jens Jespersen told reporters that “a capable actor” was probably behind the drone flights.
Disruptions in Oslo
In Norway, police confirmed that a drone was detected near Oslo Airport (OSL) on the evening of September 22, 2025. A spokesperson for Avinor, the Norwegian airport operator, stated that the airspace above the airport was closed at midnight local time (22:00 GMT) due to “two separate drone sightings,” with all flights diverted to the nearest airport.
The airspace was reopened at 03:22 local time (01:22 GMT), Avinor said in a statement. According to public broadcaster NRK, a spokesperson for Oslo Airport later added that by around 04:30 local time (02:30 GMT), operations had fully resumed.
“What we know so far is that there have been six cancellations this morning, and we also don’t know much about how the day will unfold,” Oslo Airport communications manager Monica Fasting told Norwegian news agency NTB.
Police in Denmark and Norway said they would cooperate to determine whether there was a link between the two incidents.
Wider regional context
The incidents come amid heightened concerns over drone activity in northern Europe. Earlier in 2025, Russian drones violated Polish and Lithuanian airspace, in some cases carrying explosives. While authorities in Denmark and Norway have not linked the latest sightings to those incursions, both countries are members of NATO and have increased surveillance around critical infrastructure.
