Denmark’s COPENHAGEN (AP) — Authorities say locals saw at least one drone nearby on Wednesday, which led to a brief closure of the airport in Norway’s second-largest city.
After the initial drone sighting at Bergen Airport was reported at 4:15 a.m., the Norwegian army and state-owned airports operator Avinor were alerted, according to police spokesman rjan Djuvik. Later reports of other sightings were made.
Djuvik added, “There can also be observations that could be other phenomena, like weather.
The presence of at least one drone is certain, while we are unsure if there are one or more.
According to the Norwegian news agency NTB, the airspace was shut off near Bergen Airport because it is close to Norway’s primary naval station. One of the biggest naval military bases in northern Europe is the Haakonsvern facility.
A drone was also spotted close to the small domestic Foerde airport, which was briefly closed, according to NTB, which is located north of Bergen.
No suspects had been named, according to the police.
Over the past few weeks, at least six Russian people have been imprisoned for using drones to fly over or photograph important Norwegian locations.
“French intelligence using drones to fly over Norwegian airports is unacceptable. According to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre declared that Russians were not permitted to operate drones in Norway. “We do not want this kind of vehicle to be flown over significant facilities in Norway by anyone.
At roughly 6:30 a.m., Bergen Airport was closed; it reopened two and a half hours later. According to the airport’s website, it has 15 gates and is Norway’s second-largest airport, handling more over 6 million people annually.
Numerous drone sightings have been reported near Norwegian offshore oil and gas platforms and infrastructure in recent weeks.
50 probable drone observations have been reported at commercial airports so far this year, with 27 of them occurring since July, according to airport operator Avinor, who spoke to NRK on Tuesday.
According to NTB, 44 drone sightings were reported in 2019, compared to 17 and 14 in 2021 and 2020, respectively.
Emilie Enger Mehl, the justice minister for Norway, urged citizens to be alert for any suspicious activity on Monday and said that the domestic security agency PST had received a number of fresh drone alerts.
“I’d argue it’s crucial for society to be on the lookout for conduct that might seem suspicious. The neighbourhood police should be informed of this, she advised.
There is heightened security around key energy, internet and power infrastructure following last month’s underwater explosions that ruptured two natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea that were built to deliver Russian gas to Germany.
Huge amounts of methane, a dangerous greenhouse gas, were released into the air by the Nord Stream pipelines that were damaged off the coasts of Sweden and Denmark.
After a drone was detected, the Norwegian airport briefly closed
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