Multiple airports in northern and western Denmark were forced to halt operations overnight Wednesday into Thursday, due to drone activity.

Drones were observed near Esbjerg, Sønderborg, and Skrydstrup air base, home to Denmark’s F-16 and F-35 fighter jets. Authorities said they were unable to neutralise the drones but added there was no threat to the public.

Aalborg Airport, handling both commercial and military flights, was closed for three hours, while Billund Airport shut down for an hour because of drones.

Commercial flights were halted for several hours.

The incidents follow a similar disruption at Copenhagen Airport earlier in the week, where drones grounded flights for nearly four hours.

At a news conference on Thursday morning, Denmark’s justice minister Peter Hummelgaard said, “These drone incursions that shut several Danish airports on Wednesday were a hybrid attack intended to spread fear.”

Danish defence minister Troels Lund Poulsen added, “There is no direct military threat against Denmark,” while noting the scale of the incidents.

“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,” Poulsen added.

Local residents reported seeing drones with blinking green lights hovering near airports.

Morten Skov, who witnessed drone activity near Aalborg airport, said that the lights “stood still right over” the facility before moving west, reported Reuters.

While authorities have no evidence linking the attacks to Russia, they referenced previous drone incidents in Europe attributed to Moscow and said the actions could aim to undermine Denmark’s support for Ukraine.

Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, denied any involvement in the Copenhagen incident.

Officials said they are considering acquiring enhanced capabilities to address the threat and updating legislation to allow infrastructure owners to take down drones more easily.

They also warned that even with improved capabilities, intercepting drones in populated areas may remain challenging.

Denmark is engaging with the EU and NATO on the situation, and will take part in the European Commission’s drone wall meeting.

The ministers emphasised that hybrid incidents are “here to stay” and are likely to continue in the coming days and weeks, with the intent “to create fear, to create division.”