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Swedish police investigate after another drone spotted at Arlanda Airport

Swedish aviation authorities were alerted to another report of at least one drone hovering over Arlanda Airport for the second night in a row.

Published: 10 September 2024 07:00 CEST

Swedish police investigate after another drone spotted at Arlanda Airport

File photo of the air traffic control tower at Arlanda Airport. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

“I can confirm that there have been drones at Arlanda tonight where we at the Civil Aviation Authority have received observations,” Christopher Montecino, an on-duty official, told Swedish news agency TT after the Aftonbladet tabloid was first to report the incident.

More than one person, including a security guard, spotted the drone at around 10.20pm on Monday.

Montecino said some flights had briefly been grounded, but that traffic resumed at around 11pm.

The incident comes less than 24 hours after several drones were spotted from the control tower at Arlanda, forcing several flights to divert to other airports, including Gothenburg, Nyköping and Turku in Finland.

Police suspect it was a deliberate act and are investigating, but no arrests have been made.

Flying a drone near an airport requires special permission, and airport sabotage can risk a jail sentence of up to four years, if the aim is to endanger the security or function of the airport.

If there is deemed to have been a risk to human life, then it is classified as gross airport sabotage, which can carry a life sentence.

Member comments

Anonymous - 10 September 2024 at 08:37 CEST

“deeply concerned” – the only reflex the evolution gave the Westerns.
When russia starts bombing Stockholm, the only reaction probably would be “preliminary police investigation” and cordoning.
Amazing.

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What do we know about the drone incidents at Sweden's Arlanda Airport?

“The Civil Aviation Authority decided not to allow take-offs or landings, and flights were redirected, after drones were observed at Arlanda Airport,” police wrote in a statement about the incident in the early hours of September 9th.

Cecilia Bengtström from the aviation authority told the TT newswire that there were four of them in varying size.

Around five flights were redirected to airports such as Nyköping and Gothenburg, with some redirected as far away as Copenhagen or Finland, according to Swedish media.

According to Aftonbladet, one of the flights, which landed at Skavsta outside Nyköping, was met by fire engines after an emergency alert was issued.

“It’s not as dramatic as it sounds,” Jörgen Hansson from the emergency services told the newspaper. “The plane had low fuel levels so it’s part of the routine. The landing went well.”

The drones were spotted around 1am, with traffic resuming around 3.30am on Monday.

“The police are collecting information on what has been observed and have launched a preliminary investigation into airport sabotage and violation of the Protection Act,” police wrote on their website.

The Protection Act refers to skyddslagen, the law which designates certain key areas, like airports and defence-related buildings, as protected areas, prohibiting unauthorised people from entering, photographing or mapping the area, among other things.

Around 10pm on Sunday, police were also alerted to the presence of suspected drones in Uppsala, Upsala Nya Tidning reports. They were allegedly close to a protected area. The event has also been reported as a potential violation of the Protection Act.

“They were close to our operations, essentially police buildings,” Tobias-Ahlen Svalbro, from the police, told the newspaper.

Police have said that it is too early to say whether there’s a connection between the sightings in Uppsala and Arlanda.

Then, late on Monday evening, another drone was spotted flying above Arlanda. Traffic was briefly halted but could resume before midnight.

Flying a drone near an airport requires special permission, and airport sabotage can risk a jail sentence of up to four years, if the aim is to endanger the security or function of the airport.

If there is deemed to have been a risk to human life, then it is classified as gross airport sabotage, which can carry a life sentence.

No arrests had been made by the time of publication.

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