Mysterious 'Large Drones' Force Airport Shutdown in Copenhagen

Copenhagen, Denmark – September 22, 2025  Denmark's busiest airport ground to a halt Monday evening after reports of multiple "large" unidentified drones buzzing the skies overhead, plunging thousands of travelers into hours of uncertainty and stranding flights across Northern Europe. Copenhagen Airport (CPH), the Nordic region's top gateway handling over 30 million passengers annually, suspended all takeoffs and landings at 8:26 p.m. local time (2:26 p.m. ET), citing an ongoing security threat that authorities described as both unprecedented and unresolved.

The disruption began around 8 p.m. when air traffic controllers spotted between two and four oversized drones hovering near the Øresund Strait, the vital waterway linking Denmark and Sweden. "The airport is currently closed for take-off and landing, as 2-3 large drones have been seen flying in the area. The time horizon is currently unknown," Copenhagen Police announced in a terse statement on X, formerly Twitter. By 11:17 p.m., the airport issued an update confirming the drones remained at large: "There are still unidentified drones around Copenhagen Airport. As a result, no flights can take off or land." Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 reported a cascade of chaos: at least 35 inbound flights – including carriers from major hubs like Amsterdam, London, and Frankfurt – were diverted to alternate airports such as Malmö and Gothenburg in Sweden, and Billund, Aarhus, and Aalborg in Denmark.

One Amsterdam-bound SAS flight, low on fuel, was granted an emergency landing, but most others circled endlessly before rerouting. Departures faced outright cancellations or delays stretching into Tuesday morning, with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's NOTAM system projecting a full closure until at least 11 a.m. local time. Passengers painted a picture of mounting frustration on social media. "We were told Copenhagen was closed due to drones and that the staff didn't know anything," tweeted Mikael Belstrup, whose KLM flight from Amsterdam was shunted to Billund, 200 miles west. Others reported being trapped on tarmac-bound planes for over two hours, with limited updates from harried ground crews. "It's like a bad sci-fi movie – lights out, no info, just waiting," posted one traveler from the terminal, where families with young children and business commuters alike huddled amid flickering screens. The drones themselves – described by police spokesperson Henrik Stormer as "bigger than what you as a private individual can buy" – have sparked a flurry of speculation.

Authorities have not ruled out military origins, but a Copenhagen Airport representative emphasized they were "unidentified" and not linked to any known operations. Video footage circulating on X, purportedly captured by ground spotters, shows shadowy, quadcopter-like shapes darting erratically against the evening sky, though experts cautioned against unverified claims. One clip, shared by Norwegian broadcaster NRK, has garnered thousands of views, fueling online debates from drone hobbyists to conspiracy theorists. This isn't Copenhagen's first brush with aerial intruders; the airport shuttered for nearly two hours in January after a similar sighting. But the scale here feels amplified, coming amid a string of European aviation headaches. Just over the weekend, London's Heathrow and other hubs grappled with a crippling cyberattack that grounded check-ins, while a separate Norwegian incident saw two foreign nationals arrested for flying drones over Oslo's Akershus Fortress – a military site – though officials insist no connection to Denmark's drama. Adding to the tension, unconfirmed reports emerged of drone activity near Stockholm, prompting whispers of a coordinated Nordic incursion. "Is this the future of air travel? Drones turning airports into no-fly ghost towns?" pondered one X user, echoing broader anxieties over escalating geopolitical strains. Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace earlier this month have heightened NATO vigilance, though Danish officials downplayed any immediate threat vector.

As dawn broke Tuesday, police maintained a "massive presence" at CPH, bolstered by fighter jets and helicopters scrambling from nearby bases. Inbound flights began trickling back by mid-morning, but the ripple effects lingered: delayed connections rippled across Europe, and airlines like EasyJet and Norwegian warned of knock-on delays exceeding 100 minutes. Copenhagen Airport urged passengers to monitor its website or contact airlines directly, promising a full investigation in tandem with national security teams. For now, the skies over this Scandinavian jewel remain a puzzle – a reminder that even in our hyper-connected world, the unexpected can ground us all. Updates as this story develops.