Norway’s gateway airport at Gardermoen north of Oslo (OSL) was back in operation on Tuesday, after being hit by drone drama that also had forced closure of the airport in Copenhagen. Officials in both Scandinavian capitals suspect that “national players” were behind the disruption, because of the sheer size of the drones and their flight patterns.
“This isn’t some kids’ tricks,” Tom Røseth of the Norwegian defense commando and officers’ school told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) after the airspace over OSL had to be closed for several hours. OSL was subjected to “possible drone observations” that forced some flights to be redirected to the airport at Bergen, where several hundred passengers remained stuck on Tuesday. Flights from London Gatwick, Manchester and Malaga were among those unable to land in Oslo.
The drone activity over Copenhagen’s Kastrup airport (CPH), which serves as a hub for many intercontinental flights to and from all of Scandinavia, was hit much harder, setting off alarms at the EU as well. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen after the drones spotted over CPH were said to have “threatened critical infrastructure.” Both were seriously concerned over the apparent violation of air space: “While the facts continue to be examined, it’s clear we are witness to a pattern of ongoing violations of our borders,” Von der Leyen wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon.
Norway’s justice minister, Astri Aas-Hansen of the Labour Party, was also following the drone observations around OSL closely, as were aviation and security officials. The Norwegian police were working to verify the reports of drones in the no-fly zones around OSL, but she didn’t think there was a direct link between the confirmed sightings in Copenhagen and the observations in Oslo. She also stressed that flight safety was not threatened, while police in Denmark were calling the situation in Copenhagen a “drone attack.”
The director of the Danish police, Anne Tønnes, said at a press conference on Tuesday that “we are cooperating with other authorities in Norway and Sweden,” adding that “it’s extremely serious when an international airport is closed for four hours.” That, she said, is why she was calling Monday night’s incident “a drone attack.”
While that still hadn’t been confirmed in Oslo, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called the drone drama “extremely unfortunate.” Støre, currently in New York for the annual opening of the UN General Assembly, told Norway’s TV2 that he also didn’t see a direct connection between the incidents in Copenhagen in Oslo, but thinks it’s “strange that this is happening around airports in several countries in Europe at the same time. It’s also very unfortunate, because it adversely affects air traffic and passengers.”
Norway’s police intelligence agency PST was in contact with Danish police on Tuesday but said the situation remained unclear. Ukrainian Presidents Volodomyr Zelensky, who faces deadly drone attacks from Russia every day, viewed the drones over CPH as a Russian violation of Danish air space. They come shortly after Russian drones are confirmed to have been flying over eastern Poland, and even damaged a home, and after Russian fighter jets are accused of violating air space over Estonia, all of them NATO members. Airlines serving Northern Norway, meanwhile, continue to be plagued by GPS jamming of their navigation systems, which often prevents them from landing. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has pledged to “take all military and non-military measures to ward off and defend ourselves from Russian violations of European air space.”
Russian officials, meanwhile, deny they’re behind the drones over Denmark. A Kremlin spokesperson claimed “we hear unfounded accusations” about drone activity “every time” it occurs. Others, including Jens Jespersen of the Copenhagen Police, said whoever was operating the drones over CPH had to be “capable players … with the capacity, willingness and equipment to show themselves off in this manner” or to simply conduct an exercise.
Norwegian defense experts including Røseth point to “hybrid warfare” by Russia against western countries, and warns of more sabotage attempts as well. “The goal is of course to confuse and create fear,” he told NRK, “maybe try to scare off more support to Ukraine and raise doubts. Things get serious when you see consequences at home.” He noted, however, that recent hacking and drone activity can also be carried out “by pro-Russian groups at their own initiative, and motivated by Russia.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
