Denmark has closed its airspace to all civilian drone flights ahead of a major European Union defense summit in Copenhagen this week, after a spate of recent drone sightings near airports amplified security concerns.
Denmark was one of several European countries that reported unidentified drone sightings over the past week, which prompted airport closures and widespread travel disruption. The sightings — which officials have attributed to unnamed foreign actors — rattled Europe, already on high alert because of recent incursions by Russian aircraft in the airspace of Poland, Estonia and Romania.
Denmark’s transport minister, Thomas Danielson, cited the sightings in announcing that his country’s airspace would be closed to civilian drones from Monday to Friday to ensure “extra focus on safety” around the summit.
European leaders will be meeting in Copenhagen on Wednesday and Thursday for the summit, which was organized after the Russian airspace incursions, to discuss strengthening military readiness and reinforcing support for Ukraine.
Mr. Danielsen said in a statement on Sunday that banning civilian drones would ensure that any hostile drones were not confused with legal ones, and vice versa.
“The purpose of the ban on civilian drone flights is, among other things, to simplify security work for the police,” Peter Hummelgaard, the Danish justice minister, said in the same statement, which noted that violators of the ban could face fines or up to two years in prison.
Other European countries have also offered support to help secure the summit.
The French defense ministry said on Monday that it would temporarily deploy troops with “active anti-drone capabilities” to Denmark before the summit, illustrating “European solidarity in defense against a serious threat.”
Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on X that his country had lent Denmark powerful radar systems and tasked the military with helping to provide anti-drone capabilities in connection with the summit.
Denmark has not named the actor it believes to be behind the drone flights, which Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the “most serious attack so far” on his country’s critical infrastructure.
Aurelien Breeden contributed reporting from Paris.
Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.
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