“This Isn’t Normal” - Frantic Scenes as Drones Shut Scandinavian Airports
Above: Copenhagen Airport last night - credit Martin Kleist
Written by Christopher Sharp - 23 September 2025
An eyewitness described “police everywhere,” including what looked like special forces units in green, shouting “Get away!” and an “intense, frantic” atmosphere.
The Danish Armed Forces said they were supporting Copenhagen Police with ‘relevant capabilities,’ declining to say whether counter-drone systems or special forces were used.
A second witness described a bluish-white light that was sometimes blinding, on smooth-looking objects flying ‘100% in sync,’ a display they called ‘bone-chilling.’
Denmark’s prime minister said the flights appeared intended “to disrupt and create unrest” and did not rule out Russian involvement; the Kremlin denied any role. Ukraine’s president also pointed to Russia.
Norwegian police closed Oslo’s airspace after similar reports; earlier that evening, two Singaporean tourists were arrested in Oslo for an unrelated drone flight over the city centre.
A social-media claim that a single low-flying private aircraft caused the scare seems to be contradicted by police statements that multiple drones were involved.
Denmark and Norway temporarily closed their main airports last night following reported drone activity.
Danish police confirmed the armed forces were activated after sightings over Copenhagen Airport.
Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, said the flights appeared intended “to disrupt and create unrest,” and did not rule out possible Russian involvement:
“I cannot rule out in any way that it is Russia. We have seen drones over Poland that should not have been there. We have seen activity in Romania. We have seen violations of Estonian airspace. We have seen hacker attacks on European airports over the weekend. Now there have been drones in Denmark, and it appears that there have been drones in Oslo and Norway as well. Therefore, I can only say that, in my view, this is a serious attack on critical Danish infrastructure.”
In a social media post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated the drones were of Russian origin, commenting that during a recent meeting with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, "Special attention was given to Russia's violations of the airspace of NATO member countries, particularly on September 22 in Copenhagen"
The Kremlin denied any role.
“We hear unfounded accusations from there every time,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “a serious, responsible party shouldn’t make such claims again and again.”
Operations at Copenhagen Airport resumed at 00:30 local time after nearly four hours of suspension. Oslo Airport also reopened following a four-hour airspace closure.
A Copenhagen Police spokesperson told Liberation Times the investigation is ongoing and involves the Police Intelligence Service, Danish Defence, Copenhagen Airport, Naviair and other authorities:
“Since yesterday evening the Copenhagen Police have been conducting an intensive investigation regarding the presence of unidentified drones over Copenhagen Airport.
The investigation is being carried out in cooperation with, among others, the Police Intelligence Service, Danish Defence, Copenhagen Airport, Naviair, and other relevant authorities.”
The spokesperson added that multiple drones were seen arriving and departing from different directions:
“There were several larger drones coming from different directions, and they also left the airspace over and around the airport in various directions. It is still too early to say where the drones came from, but based on the drones’ flight patterns, the Copenhagen Police assess that one or more so-called ‘capable actors’ are behind the drone flights.”
One eyewitness, Martin Kleist, who spoke to Liberation Times, told of frantic scenes at the airport, commenting:
“This isn’t normal. Those drones were big. I didn’t see them in the air, but I went to the site - police everywhere: regular units and what looked like special forces in green.
“They shouted, ‘Get away!’ The atmosphere was intense, frantic. They announced a press conference in Inner Copenhagen, so we rushed there. It’s unprecedented. They basically said they didn’t know anything. I’m still in shock - it was rough, both with the crowd and the police.”
A spokesperson from the Danish Armed Forces commented to Liberation Times:
‘The Danish Defence supports Copenhagen Police with relevant capabilities. The Danish Defence has no further comment.’
The spokesperson declined to confirm whether counter-drone systems or special forces were deployed.
A Reddit witness, which Liberation Times sources made direct contact with, described a ‘bluish-white, sometimes blinding’ light on apparently smooth-surfaced objects flying ‘100% in sync’ - a display they called ‘bone-chilling.’
In Oslo, Norway, airspace was closed overnight after multiple drone reports; hours earlier, police arrested two Singaporean tourists for allegedly flying a drone over the city centre, with prosecutors saying they may face deportation.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said there was reason to believe the Copenhagen and Oslo incidents could be connected, noting separately that Russian aircraft have violated Norwegian airspace three times this year.
As events unfolded, a video surfaced online, released by Norwegian state media, claiming to show one of the large, unidentified drones that shut down Copenhagen Airport. The object appeared to have green lights and fixed wings.
Above: A green fixed-wing object witnessed above Copenhagen Airport
Offering an alternative perspective, one social media user suggested the drone reports over Copenhagen Airport could actually be attributed to a private plane, which flew very low in proximity to the airport:
‘I’m going to stick my neck out and say that the Copenhagen “drone” was very probably this plane, OY-CDT, which for some reason buzzed the runway twice in two minutes at 400ft, at 20:17 and 20:19 local time.
‘At 20:26 the airport was closed due to drone reports. Fancy that.’
However, Danish police said multiple drones were involved at Copenhagen Airport, not a single aircraft.
The incident at Copenhagen Airport mirrors late-2024/early-2025 reports in which allied militaries, the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. civilians logged unexplained overflights of defence facilities and additional sightings in civilian areas.
The incidents triggered security alerts and prompted questions over whether the vehicles were linked to foreign adversaries - and there have been documented instances when the U.S. military could not detect or jam such mysterious objects.
Danish police said last night’s drones approached from different directions, cycled their lights on and off, and then disappeared after several hours - similar to behaviour reported in December 2024 incidents off Atlantic City, where the U.S. Coast Guard described craft ‘turning their lights on and off while continuing to fly.’
The White House later downplayed the events, suggesting many of the sightings were misidentified aircraft and insisting there was no evidence of a national security threat.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved the drones for research.
This overlooked several critical points, including the fact that the FAA had issued restrictions in response to these incidents, as well as the broader context of drones or unidentified objects repeatedly breaching sensitive U.S. military installations abroad.
Representative Eric Burlison, speaking to Liberation Times last month, argued the real problem for the confusion from the White House was bureaucratic failure rather than concealment:
“Never underestimate the ineptitude of government employees and their inability to act. I think we’re often overly confident about our government’s capabilities. In my view, the most likely scenario is that they don’t know [what the so-called drones were], and they’re embarrassed that they don’t.”
