Unidentified drones caused a four-hour closure of Copenhagen’s airport, prompting Danish authorities to speculate about their origin, possibly from a ship in the Baltic Sea.
Possible Sources of the Drones
Danish media reported that the unidentified drones seen over Copenhagen Airport may have flown in from the Baltic Sea, potentially launched from one of several ships in the area.
There are three possible scenarios: the Russian cargo ship Astrol-1, which passed through the Sund Strait a few hours before the drones appeared; the Benin-flagged tanker Pushpa, which was under sanctions for transporting Russian oil; and the Norwegian freight ship Oslo Carrier 3, which had a Russian crew but denied having drones on board.
Expert Opinions and Reactions
Danish experts believe the country is unprepared for such situations, with Kjeld Jensen suggesting the drones could have started from a ship and then been sunk to cover their tracks.
Peter Ernstved Rasmussen noted that Denmark’s military and Copenhagen Airport lack an emergency plan to block or force down drones, indicating the country has not taken the threat seriously enough.
Drone Incidents and Air Traffic Disruptions
The drone sightings caused significant disruptions, with Copenhagen Airport closed for four hours and Oslo’s airport for three hours on September 22.
Similar incidents occurred at airports in Belgium, Berlin, and London’s Heathrow, which faced a cyberattack on their check-in systems.
