By Rounak Bagchi

Copyright timesnownews

Airspace over Oslo Airport has been closed following reports of a drone sighting, officials confirmed late on Monday to Norwegian news agency NRK. Monica Fasting, communications manager at Oslo Airport, told Norwegian outlet VG that several planes were forced to circle over Oslo and Gardermoen before being redirected. “The planes are circling over Oslo waiting to be redirected to other airports,” Fasting said, adding that a flight from Bergen was sent back to Flesland. The incident comes amid a series of drone-related disruptions across the region. Earlier on Monday evening, two people were arrested for illegally flying drones in central Oslo. Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) has been kept informed and is receiving continuous updates, senior adviser Eirik Veum told VG just after midnight on Tuesday. Air travel elsewhere in Scandinavia was also affected. At 20:30 local time, all traffic at Copenhagen Airport was halted after several large drones were spotted near the runway. The airport reopened just after 00:30 on Tuesday morning. Avinor, which operates Oslo Airport and other Norwegian hubs, said surveillance systems are in place to monitor drone activity. Last year, 1,450 illegal drones were detected near airports in Norway, according to public broadcaster NRK.