It is not an easy task for the police that Denmark is to host an EU summit if, at the same time, "reports come flooding in" from citizens who have spotted a suspicious drone.
Therefore, from Monday to Friday next week, it will be prohibited for private individuals to fly drones, the government announces.
"It is no secret that we are currently receiving a huge number of reports about drone flights," says Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen, adding:
"We are in fact pleased about that, but the ban is to avoid unnecessary noise for the police so they can focus on carrying out the EU summit, which Denmark is about to host."
It is possible for private individuals to apply for an exemption with the Danish Transport Authority.
But it is only in cases of "urgent, socially critical tasks" that commercial operators can hope for a green light from the authorities.
"We do not want civilian flights in our airspace in the coming week unless they are absolutely urgent.
What about the many private companies that had planned to use drones in the coming week?
"If you run a business and carry out civilian flights, I strongly appeal to you to postpone them," he says, elaborating:
"If it is urgent, for example due to economic circumstances, then you can apply for an exemption. But it must be truly urgent: it is not in cases where a company wants to drone-photograph a wedding or similar," he says.
A violation of the ban can result in a fine or imprisonment of up to two years, according to a press release.
The ban applies to:
- Commercial operators (except for "urgent, socially critical tasks")
- Private flights with both drones and model aircraft, the Danish Transport Authority tells TV 2.
The ban does
not apply to:
- Military drone flights, state aviation with drones, including police and emergency drone operations
- Municipal and regional emergency and health-related drone operations
Source: Ministry of Transport
Denmark is currently in a tense situation, where its airspace has in the past week been violated to a degree "not seen since the Second World War," Thomas Danielsen also says.
Other countries have also been affected by drone flights that have violated their airspace in the past week. These include Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Romania.
As a response, NATO has decided to increase surveillance in the Baltic Sea, including by sending an air-defense frigate.
The frigate arrived in Copenhagen earlier today, where it will dock during the upcoming summit, which takes place from 29 September to 2 October, according to a spokesman for NATO's naval command (MARCOM), speaking to TV 2.
DR is seeking a comment from NATO.