COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A skilled drone pilot flew two to three large unidentified drones over Copenhagen Airport on Monday night, shutting down the airspace for hours as the unknown perpetrator appeared to be showing off their capabilities over Scandinavia’s largest airport, police said Tuesday.
Officials chose not to shoot down the drones because the risk was too great because of the airport being full of passengers, the planes on the runways and nearby fuel depots, Jes Jespersen, senior police inspector of the Copenhagen Police, said during a news conference.
Jespersen called the pilot “a capable actor” and said the culprit seemed intent on showing off their skills and possibly practicing their techniques. The drones disappeared after several hours.
There were no signs that the drone pilot intended to cause harm to anyone, he added. The drones’ lights turned on and off and appeared to engage in different flight patterns.
“It all indicates that you are not out to attack anyone, but you are out to show off and maybe to practice,” he said of the pilot.
Still, authorities couldn’t rule out the possibility of the drones being part of a Russian hybrid attack, he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations.
“Every time we hear unfounded accusations,” he said in a call Tuesday with reporters, adding that