It is disturbingly easy to shut down a commercial airport, as last night’s events in Copenhagen show. Three large drones, Danish authorities said, flew close enough to the runway to force the airport to close for four hours in an incident that inevitably raises wider questions about the security of the skies above Nato countries at a time when Russia has already shown it is willing to test the integrity of alliance airspace.
Videos published by local media show what appears to be relatively large but unidentified craft with green lights near the Danish capital. The drones came in from multiple directions and left in a similar fashion, suggesting, Danish police said, they were operated by a “capable actor”, one with an understanding of how to pilot drones in such a way as to maximise nuisance and cause alarm.
