A plane spotted a drone at Sola Airport outside Stavanger, closing the airspace shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. At 21.40 Avinor reports that it is open again.
– I can confirm that a drone was spotted at Stavanger Airport. She was seen by a plane taking off. We will then close the airspace immediately as a safety measure, so that police and air traffic controllers together assess that the situation is under control, Avinor press spokesperson, Harald Kvam, told VG at 21.05.
It is prohibited to fly a drone more than five kilometers from airports in Norway.
The closure of the airspace leads to flight delays and cancellations of flights in and out of Sola Airport.
The same applies to Haugesund Airport in Karmøy, Avinor VG reported.
The airspace there was also closed, because the distance between Haugesund and Stavanger is relatively short, and the drone must have been spotted aloft.
At 21.40 Avinor reported that the airspace was open again.
The drone should not be found.
The article has been updated.
Avinor states that any drone flight within the confines of the ban is a matter of police.
Police told VG that they are not currently looking for any drone operators, or drones, as they have no more information to continue.
They wrote on Twitter that “the police sought to make observations, but to no avail.”
They also write that they have nothing more tangible to pursue.
Its director of operations, Erin Ragnhildstevet, says the airspace has been closed on the grounds of drone surveillance, but says they can’t confirm or deny whether there was a drone at the site.
The police refer to Avinor to ask questions about the decision to close the airspace. They don’t want to say anything about any actions that are being taken.
In recent days, two Russians have been captured in Norway by drones. One of them was on his way back to Russia via the Storskog border crossing at Finnmark. The other was stopped at Tromsø Airport.
The latter is said to have been photographed at the airport, among other things.
In recent months, there has been a complete ban on the operation of drones by the Russians in Norway.
The identity of the drone operator who has now piloted a drone at Sola Airport is not yet known.
Police have asked the Norwegians for additional monitoring of drones and other potentially suspicious activities, in the south near power and defense installations.
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