Denmark Copenhagen airport closed after drone sightings, Cyberattacks disrupt traffic in London-Heathrow, Berlin, Dublin, Brussels Airports in Europe

All traffic at Denmark's biggest airport in Copenhagen has been closed after drone sightings, police said on Monday. All take-offs and landings at Copenhagen Airport were suspended as of 20:26 local time (18:26 GMT) due to drone reports, according to a post by FlightRadar on X. At least 15 flights had been diverted to other airports, the post read.

A spokesperson for the airport confirmed that all traffic had been halted but declined to comment further.

"(The airport) is currently closed for take-off and landing, as 2-3 large drones have been seen flying in the area. The time horizon is currently unknown," police said in a statement posted on social media X.


Meanwhile, disruptions continued for a fourth day at major European airports Monday morning after a cyberattack on a third-party system that handles check-in and boarding systems.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity said Monday that disruption had been caused by a ransomware attack. Laura Heuvinck, a spokesperson for the organization, said in an interview Monday that she did not yet have more details about the episode, and that it was still unclear who was behind it.

At Brussels Airport, which appeared to have been most affected by the disruption, "the vast majority of flights today can be operated," Ihsane Chioua Lekhli, a spokesperson for the airport, said in an email Monday. At least 40 of 277 departing flights scheduled for Monday had been canceled in Brussels, and 23 of 277 arriving flights, she added.

The airport was still experiencing problems with the check-in process. "It is not yet clear when we will be able to switch back to the normal check-in and boarding system," Lekhli said.

At least three other airports -- Berlin-Brandenburg, Dublin and Heathrow near London -- said the cyberattack had hindered their check-in and boarding processes.

Berlin's airport said in a statement that the cyberattack had taken place Friday evening. Despite the glitches and increased traffic because of the Berlin Marathon on Sunday, the airport said it had managed to keep operations "largely stable," with departure delays "mostly under an hour." It advised travelers to use their airline's online check-in option, and to make use of self-service kiosks and baggage drop-off stations.

In Dublin, some airlines were continuing to use manual workarounds Monday, according to Graeme McQueen, a spokesperson for Dublin Airport, which could mean that bag drops would take longer than usual. McQueen said there were no flight delays or cancellations at the airport Monday because of the ransomware attack.

FAQs

Q1. Which airports witness cyberattacks?
A1. Brussels Airport, Berlin-Brandenburg airport, Dublin airport and Heathrow near London.

Q2. What was the cause of cyberattacks?
A2. The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity said Monday that disruption had been caused by a ransomware attack.