Denmark: Aalborg airport shut for second time after suspected drone incursion

Copenhagen, Sep 26 (IANS) Aalborg airport in Denmark was shut for a second time in just 24 hours on Friday after suspected drone incursion. The drone incursion forced the airport used for commercial and military flights to close between 11 pm-12 am in the early hours of Friday after an object was detected in the sky.

It is the latest drone activity that has been reported in Denmark, termed by the authorities as a well-organised hybrid attack, sparking concerns regarding security in northern Europe.

While addressing a press conference on Thursday, Danish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said that a “professional actor” was responsible for the “systematic operation” that was difficult to fight against, Euro News reported.

"This is an arms race against time because technology is constantly evolving," Poulsen said, while expressing optimism that those behind the drone activity will be brought to book.

He stated, "We are going to find the people who are behind this."

Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said on Thursday that the drone incursion was aimed to create fear and division, adding that Denmark will seek additional ways to neutralise drones, including proposing law to allow infrastructure owners to bring them down.

Danish intelligence officials warned that the risk of Russian espionage and sabotage in Denmark is high. In a news conference on Thursday night, Danish Security Intelligence Service chief Finn Borch stated, "We have seen this in other parts of Europe, and we must also expect to see it in Denmark." Authorities mentioned that there was no imminent danger to people.

On Thursday, Denmark contacted the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union (EU) after shutting Aalborg airport and placing three others airports on alert following the unauthorised drones carrying out what the authorities termed as coordinated attacks.

Earlier also, drone incursion were reported in Denmark that officials suspect may involve Russian interference. On Monday, the Copenhagen airport was affected by a similar incident. Authorities said the drones at Aalborg followed a similar pattern to the ones that paused operations at Copenhagen. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had described the drone attack as the "most serious yet on Denmark's infrastructure."

Norwegian authorities also closed the airspace at Oslo airport for three hours on Monday due to possible danger from unauthorised drone activity, Euro News reported. On Wednesday, Norway's Foreign Minister said that authorities of Denmark and Norway are working together on the incidents that occurred in Copenhagen and Oslo, however, their probe has not yet established a connection.

--IANS

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