Lyce · Hybrid Watch
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Haugesund Airport airspace temporarily closed after suspected drone sighting.
On 16 October 2022, the airspace over Haugesund Airport Karmøy was temporarily closed after a suspected drone sighting in south-western Norway. The initial observation was made near Stavanger Airport Sola, where pilots from a departing aircraft reported seeing an object they believed to be a drone. As a precaution, Avinor closed the airspace over Stavanger and then also closed the nearby airspace over Haugesund Airport Karmøy because of the same observation. Both airports were reopened at around 21:40 local time after authorities assessed the airspace as safe. Norwegian reporting later clarified that Haugesund was affected as part of the same aviation-safety response, not because of a separate confirmed drone sighting directly over Haugesund Airport. Police searched for the drone and operator, but the object was not confirmed or identified. The incident occurred during a wider period of heightened concern over suspicious drone activity near Norwegian airports, offshore sites and critical energy infrastructure. However, this specific Haugesund-related closure was not officially attributed to Russia, so it should be marked as “Fitting the pattern”, not “Officially attributed.”
E/M/R/S scores
- EExistence0/4 · Not assessed
- MIntent0/4 · Not assessed
- RRussian actor link0/4 · Not assessed
- SRussian state responsibility0/4 · Not assessed
Facts
No facts
Sources
-
- Role
- discovery_lead
- Date
- 2022-10-16T13:05:26Z
On 16 October 2022, the airspace over Haugesund Airport Karmøy was temporarily closed after a suspected drone sighting in south-western Norway. The initial observation was made near Stavanger Airport Sola, where pilots from a departing aircraft reported seeing an object they believed to be a drone. As a precaution, Avinor closed the airspace over Stavanger and then also closed the nearby airspace over Haugesund Airport Karmøy because of the same observation. Both airports were reopened at around 21:40 local time after authorities assessed the airspace as safe. Norwegian reporting later clarified that Haugesund was affected as part of the same aviation-safety response, not because of a separate confirmed drone sighting directly over Haugesund Airport. Police searched for the drone and operator, but the object was not confirmed or identified. The incident occurred during a wider period of heightened concern over suspicious drone activity near Norwegian airports, offshore sites and critical energy infrastructure. However, this specific Haugesund-related closure was not officially attributed to Russia, so it should be marked as “Fitting the pattern”, not “Officially attributed.”