A number of European airports have been affected by drone sightings, causing delays and cancellations, with blame pointed towards Russia over tensions from the war in Ukraine.
UPDATE: 07/11/2025
Over the last few months, a number of high-profile European airports have had its operations affected by drones. It is believed that 'professional actors' are behind these incursions, with the West placing blame on Russia as tensions rise over the war in Ukraine.
Disturbances can last hours, causing severe delays and flight cancellations, costing airports and airlines millions of pounds.
Ourania Georgoutsakou, Managing Director for Airlines for Europe (A4E), said the proliferating incidents should "speed up" implementation of protocols to minimise disruption in an "overstretched and fragmented European airspace".
List of Airports affected by drones
- Brussels and Liège airports (Belgium, 7 November 2025) faced disruptions overnight once again over suspected drone sightings
- Deurne Airport (Belgium, 1 November 2025) a possible drone sighting was reported in the immediate vicinity of Deurne Airport.
- Copenhagen Airport (Denmark, 22 September 2025) closed for nearly four hours due to drone sightings, causing diversions and cancellations.
- Oslo Airport (Norway, 22 September 2025) airspace closed for about three hours after a drone sighting.
- Aalborg Airport (Denmark, 24–25 September 2025) temporarily closed after drones repeatedly observed in airspace.
- Munich Airport (Germany, 2 October 2025,) flight operations suspended overnight due to multiple drone sightings, leading to cancelled and diverted flights.
- Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández Airport (Spain, 27 October 2025) drone sighting near runway forced airport to suspend operations for nearly two hours.
Denmark’s defence minister, Troels Lund Poulsen, told a press conference: “There can be no doubt that everything points to this being the work of a professional actor when we are talking about such a systematic operation in so many locations at virtually the same time. This is what I would define as a hybrid attack using different types of drones.
“This is an arms race against time because technology is constantly evolving.”
Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said Sunday.
“They [the drones] come to spy, to see where the F-16s are, where the ammunition are, and other highly strategic information,” he told Belgian outlet RTBF.
Counter-drone protection is a topic that will come up for discussion at the International Airport Summit 2025 in Berlin. On 20 November we will be discussing this exact topic during the 'Securing the skies: the cutting-edge security tech every airport needs' panel discussion sponsored by DroneShield and OSL where airports will share their experiences and how they are responding to this rapidly evolving threat.
Topics
- Advanced air mobility
- Airlines for Europe (A4E)
- ATM, capacity & network
- Aviation security operations
- Belgian Defense Ministry
- Connectivity & communications
- Danish Defence Ministry
- Disruption & crisis management
- Europe
- Governance, partnerships & concessions
- Ourania Georgoutsakou
- Regulation & compliance
- Safety management
- Terminal operations
- Theo Francken
- Troels Lund Poulsen
