The airspace is closed to all civilian drone flights

From Monday 29 September to Friday 3 October in connection with the EU summit, all civilian drone flying in Danish airspace will be prohibited.

In the coming week, Denmark will host the EU summit. There is a need to have full focus on safety. On the basis of the recent drone incidents at several airports, the Minister of Transport, Thomas Danielsen, in consultation with the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Justice, has therefore decided to use the option available in the Aviation Act to close the Danish airspace to all civilian drone flights during that week.

The closure will take effect from Monday 29 September and will remain in effect until Friday 3 October. The ban applies around the clock.

- We cannot accept that foreign drones create uncertainty and disturbances in society, as we have experienced recently. At the same time, Denmark will host EU leaders in the coming week, where we will have extra focus on security. Therefore, from Monday to Friday, we will close the Danish airspace to all civilian drone flights. In this way, we remove the risk that enemy drones can be confused with legal drones and vice versa, says Minister of Transport Thomas Danielsen.

"We are currently in a difficult security policy situation, and we must ensure the best possible working conditions for the Armed Forces and the Police when they are responsible for security during the EU summit. A task that already requires a great effort from our authorities, who are working around the clock to protect the Danes and our guests, says Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen.

- The police are on significantly increased alert, and our authorities must use their forces where necessary to take care of the Danes and our guests. The purpose of the ban on civilian drone flying is, among other things, to simplify the security work for the police, so that the police do not have to spend their efforts on civilian drones without security and police relevance, says Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard.

The Aviation Act allows the Minister of Transport to close all or part of the airspace to different types of traffic if this is necessary for public safety or if there are special circumstances.

A violation of the prohibition can result in a fine or imprisonment for up to two years.

The prohibition does not apply to military drone flights, state aviation with drones, including police and emergency drone operations, as well as municipal and regional emergency and health-related drone operations.

In connection with the ban, it will also be possible to apply for an exemption from the Danish Transport Agency for drone flying in very special cases, for example if it is a matter of urgent tasks of importance to society carried out by commercial actors.