Copenhagen Airport says it views with great seriousness the discovery of a drone carrying an explosive charge on a runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany. The airport says Danish authorities set the threat assessments it acts on.
The drone was found during the night to Wednesday at Flughafen Leipzig/Halle. DR reports that the find led to the closure of the German airport, and that German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has called the incident a hybrid attack scenario.
Copenhagen Airport responded in a written comment after DR Nyheder requested an interview about Danish preparedness for a similar event. Communications director Lise Agerley Kürstein said the airport, like all others in Europe, views the Leipzig incident with great seriousness. She added that authorities carry out threat assessments in Denmark and that the airport acts on their recommendations.
According to Kürstein, protecting critical airport infrastructure is a shared task, with authorities responsible for national security and emergency preparedness. She said the airport is continuously developing its surveillance because the threat picture from drones is changing. DR also asked Aarhus Airport and Billund Airport about their preparedness, but neither had responded, and Copenhagen Police declined an interview for security reasons.
German investigation still open
Tagesschau reports that the drone was spotted by airport staff and that explosives experts secured the device. The broadcaster adds that the Federal Criminal Police Office is examining possible political or extremist motives. Regional broadcaster MDR notes that flights were diverted and that the explosive was rendered safe on site, with the Saxony state criminal police office leading the investigation.
The German Federal Ministry of the Interior states that no injuries were reported and that federal security agencies are assisting Saxony authorities. Per the Saxony State Criminal Police Office, the origin of the drone and the identity of those behind it remain unknown. Agency reporting carried by Zeit Online says investigators are examining whether the drone was piloted from near the airport or flown in from farther away.
Kjeld Jensen, deputy head of the Dronecenter at the University of Southern Denmark, told DR he does not expect that a drone like the one in Leipzig would be detected on its way into a Danish airport’s territory today. He said this is not due to incompetence, but because drones come in many sizes and shapes and are technically hard to detect.
DR notes the disputed drone observations that closed airspace over Copenhagen Airport several times in September 2025. Police later said they could not prove that drones were over the airport at all. Jensen said there is a need for a better overview of the low airspace.
Jensen pointed to a drone strategy on the way from the Danish Transport Authority, which is expected to require that all drones above a certain size be electronically traceable. He described the Danish drone days of 2025 as a wake-up call and said he expects that a great deal has happened since, though he does not know how fast.
