Judul : Europe's Drone Dilemma: Why Airports Are Shutting Down Over Sightings?
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Europe's Drone Dilemma: Why Airports Are Shutting Down Over Sightings?
A review of publicly accessible reports by Euronews' fact-checking team, The Cube, revealed that drone-related disturbances at European airports have significantly increased over the last year, tripling from January 2024 to November 2025.
The analysis, which included over 24 airports in 12 different countries, highlights a significant shift: although events were documented occasionally in 2024 and early 2025, there was a sharp increase in September, peaking the subsequent month.
Belgium was the country most impacted, with 10 incidents causing disruptions at its airports that were linked to drones flying overhead.
Every one of these events took place within a span of eight days, from November 2 to 9, forming an extraordinary one-week concentration of drone-related issues that halted Brussels Airport and caused numerous flight cancellations.
Official statistics indicate a broader trend of gradually rising drone activity. Germany's air navigation service provider, DFS, documented 192 incidents involving drones at airports in 2025, an increase from 141 in the previous year.
LFV in Sweden also reported five instances between 2024 and 2025 in which air traffic was interrupted or postponed because of drones.
More frequent, and more troubling
Unmanned aerial vehicles operating close to European airports are not a novel occurrence, according to air traffic records. Nevertheless, although reports have risen steadily in recent years, the characteristics of these events have also evolved — becoming more troubling and prone to cause airport closures for extended periods.
Information from the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority shared with The Cube indicates that air traffic controllers documented 107 unauthorized drone incidents near Danish airports in 2025, compared to 92 in 2024.
However, only a few of these were documented in the media and online as significantly affecting air travel. In December 2024, the Copenhagen Police reported asingle, brief incident At Copenhagen Airport — a drone encounter led to a 10-minute delay with no flight disruptions.
However, by 2025, the circumstances underwent a significant transformation. From September 22 to 23, 2025, drone encounters at Copenhagen airport led to a four-hour halt in air traffic,at minimum 109 cancellations and 51 reroutings.
At the same time, a reported drone caused air traffic issues at Oslo Airport in Norway, with the combined effect affecting over 20,000 travelers — the biggest airport disruption due to drones recorded in 2025 so far.
Only a day later, drones were observed at Aalborg, an airport that uses the same runway as the Danish Air Force, with officials reporting extended delays and reroutings.
Additional drones were observed by witnesses in Sønderborg, Esbjerg, and Skrydstrup, which is a military installation.
This trend is not specific to Denmark. In 2025, Germany, Sweden, and Belgium all experienced an increase in media coverage highlighting airport shutdowns for several hours and significant disruptions in air travel, in contrast to occasional or minor issues in 2024.
Authorities note that the increase in affordable, readily available drones for enthusiasts has occurred alongside Russia's comprehensive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which hasaccelerated advances in drone technology.
The specific reasons and individuals responsible for numerous airport disruptions remain under inquiry in many instances.
Nevertheless, other experts informed The Cube that numerous of these disturbances exhibit the characteristics of Moscow's hybrid warfare, intended to disturb communities and lead them into a grey zone that avoids outright military conflict.
Who's behind the drones?
The count of reports regarding drone-induced airport shutdowns rose after approximately 23 drones entered Polish airspace on September 9, leading to the closure of four airports in the nation.major incident.
Polish officials directly accused Russia. In October, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski stated to The Guardian that the drones seemed to have been launched from one location and were not armed — suggesting it was a deliberate act of provocation, rather than an unintended consequence of a Russian attack on nearby Ukraine.
In November, Polish general Maciej Klisz informed the publication Rzeczpospolita that an investigation revealed that several drones were equipped with explosive devices, including some fake ones, designed to overwhelm air defense systems.
In other areas, the connection is not as evident. A police inquiry regarding the event in September at Oslo Airport was eventually dropped. Norwegian authorities stated they had carried out an investigation, which ultimately "could not confirm or deny if the drones were indeed seen on the evening of September 23".
In Germany, authorities conducted an extensive operation near Munich Airport following multiple drone sightings that led to flight disruptions in early October, although they were unable to quickly identify the responsible party.
An independent event in early November caused a near-two-hour disruption of flights at Berlin Airport, as authorities stated they were unable to quickly identify the drone, which was observed by a bystander.
Nevertheless, multiple European leaders have publicly indicated Russian involvement. Following the event that led to the closure of Copenhagen airport in September, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen explicitly stated that Russian involvement "could not be excluded," connecting it to the incursion near Poland and another occurrence in Romanian airspace.
It seemed to be a skilled operator," said Danish police inspector Jens Jespersen regarding the event, mentioning that the drone switched its lights on and off as it neared the airport. It was controlled by an individual who had the "desire and equipment to show off... possibly also to rehearse.
Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in response to the numerous drone sightings at the beginning of October, stated that although there has been no incident involving an "armed drone" yet, Germany's belief is "that Russia is responsible for most of these drone flights." He referred to them as "spying attempts" designed to "disturb the public."
In Belgium, Defence Minister Theo Francken commented on the frequent incursions occurring between November 2 and 9, stating that "the threat was significant" and that the pattern "resembled the hybrid methods observed in other nations."
A representative of his stated to The Cube that Russian involvement was "possible," while all potential situations were under review.
Russia has consistently rejected any connection. When questioned about the drone incidents during a public event in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the allegations with laughter.
I won't be sending any more [drones]," Putin joked. "Not to France, not to Denmark, and not to Copenhagen.
Drones are 'sophisticated'
Although officials in Europe have initiated inquiries into most of the events, very few have resulted in the identification of perpetrators. According to specialists, a portion of this issue stems from constraints in technology.
"Several of the drones employed are so tiny and lightweight that conventional radar systems are not set up to identify them," stated Dr. David Bacci, a senior research assistant in thermofluids dynamics and acoustics at the Oxford Thermofluids Institute.
New monitoring technologies, including high-definition thermal imaging and sound sensors, are currently under evaluation, Bacci said to The Cube, but "we are truly in a grey zone where the challenges are expanding quicker than the available solutions."
He mentioned that it is challenging to identify the individual in charge of managing the drones, who might be operating either outside or several kilometers away from the airport's boundary.
"It's not so simple to go back through everything to Russia," he said.
Some events might involve individuals "funded by Russia or merely Russian sympathizers," while others could be "amateurs or imitators seeking to exploit the Russia excuse for chaos," he mentioned. In numerous cases, "there remains no official evidence" of Russian involvement.
Nevertheless, additional drone incursions indicate a more organized approach. "We have a collection of hints, and these hints come from the fact that the drones involved are not inexpensive gadgets available for purchase online," said Michel Liégeois, professor of international relations at UCLouvain, regarding the recent sightings in Belgium.
"They are quite advanced drones, and trials have demonstrated their resilience against typical jamming methods," he stated.
He mentioned that the selection of targets, typically airports and military installations, indicates a deliberate plan. "This goes far beyond the interest of an ordinary person. And the fact that all of this has increased so rapidly clearly demonstrates that it is organized. It can't just be coincidental — as if suddenly many people across Europe, for no apparent reason, all chose to do the same thing."
Liégeois highlighted the increasing military assistance Europe is providing to Kyiv.
Therefore, the message [from Russia] is: by providing such significant support to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, you are, in a sense, becoming participants in the war, and you are putting yourselves at risk of retaliation, as you are damaging Russia's interests," he stated. "For now, we are only operating a small number of unarmed drones, but this shows that we have the ability to do more.
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