The rising drone threat to European airports
Drones have moved from novelty to a glaring security concern for European aviation. In recent months, suspicious drone activity has been reported above bases, power facilities, and airports across the region. After drone incursions in Poland, the Danish airports in Copenhagen and Oslo were briefly paralysed at the start of the week for the same reason. In quick succession, five Danish airports faced disruptions on Thursday and Friday, and more recently, devices were detected south of Sweden near the Karlskrona naval base. These incidents are part of a broader pattern that has emerged since the start of the Ukraine conflict, pushing security services to rethink the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure to aerial threats.
Experts warn that drone technology—cheap to acquire and easy to operate—gives malicious actors a potent tool to disrupt transportation networks, with potentially catastrophic consequences if used against aviation assets. The Swiss context mirrors this national concern: a growing number of drone sightings around airports has prompted the authorities to evaluate and upgrade protective measures.
How Swiss airports are responding
Swiss progress on drone detection illustrates a spectrum of measures. Saint-Gall-Altenrhein, a small regional airport, has become a pioneer by installing a professional drone detection system. The installation uses passive sensors from an Australian company and relays real-time drone location and live imagery to the control tower when an alert is triggered, without interfering with other systems. Zurich Airport has adopted a similar approach, with real-time detection and automated alerts that distinguish registered from unregistered drones, enabling incident documentation and, if necessary, temporary air traffic disruption.
What about other Swiss airports?
Regulatory guidance from the Swiss Office of Civil Aviation (OFAC) notes that international rules provide little direction on how to handle drone threats. Detection systems remain relatively new and are only installed at a subset of airports. Geneva Airport asserts it has action plans for drone attacks but has not disclosed whether a detection system is in place, citing security reasons. The EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse has offered a similarly cautious position. In contrast, the Bern-Belp airport has been more transparent about its limitations: there is no drone detection system there, largely due to cost concerns for a regional facility that nonetheless serves diplomats and visiting dignitaries.
Gaps and the limits of current defenses
Experts emphasize that even the best-equipped airports cannot guarantee total protection. Quadricopters, the most common platform observed in the region, can be difficult to intercept and may bypass simple geofencing with the right know-how. A drone carrying even a small payload could threaten aircraft during critical phases of flight, such as take-off or landing. While counter-drone technologies—ranging from jamming to electronic interference—exist, they can disrupt legitimate communications and GPS services used by the public, underscoring the delicate balance between security and everyday connectivity. As Roland Siegwart, a robotics expert at ETH Zurich, warns, the arms race between drone developers and defense systems is ongoing, and no single solution offers a panacea.
National plans and resource implications
Switzerland is evaluating its defense posture, with a recent government assessment highlighting significant gaps in drone defense. While tests of jamming and other countermeasures have been conducted, practical deployment remains constrained by potential collateral effects on civilians and infrastructure. The defense department has announced a planned investment of around 100 million Swiss francs to bolster air defense and anti-drone capabilities, split between upgrading infrastructure and acquiring additional systems, with a long road to full readiness into 2033. This underscores a broader European challenge: policy, funding, and technology must converge quickly to keep pace with evolving drone capabilities.
Conclusion: a shared, evolving challenge
Across Europe, airports and security forces are stepping up monitoring and detection, yet there is no universal, flawless solution. The incidents of the past months demonstrate that even well-protected hubs can be vulnerable to aerial threats. The path forward requires continued investment in detection technologies, clearer international guidelines, and cross-border cooperation to close the gaps that drones exploit. In the end, the safety of aviation will depend on a sustained, collaborative effort to outpace this quickly evolving technology.
