CPH: Extra Security Checks Bring Long Queues and Missed Flights at Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — October 24, 2026 — Temporary extra security checks ordered by Denmark’s aviation regulator have caused long queues at Copenhagen Airport since Thursday evening. More than 500 SAS and Norwegian passengers missed flights or had to be rebooked, and the airport expects longer-than-normal waits through the weekend.

What happened

The cause: After an inspection, the Danish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority (Trafikstyrelsen) said it had found situations that required temporary additional checks at security. Neither the authority nor the airport has said what the inspection found or exactly what the new checks involve.
When it started: Long queues built on the evening of Thursday, October 22, and again on Friday morning, October 23. Reported waits on Thursday evening reached at least 45 minutes, and one passenger reportedly spent more than two hours in line. On Friday around 7 a.m., queues were reported stretching toward the metro station.
Missed flights: SAS rebooked 352 passengers whose departures left without them. Norwegian said about 200 passengers missed flights on Thursday and another 30 on Friday, and it has offered rebooking.
Saturday: Waits reached 45 minutes to an hour early on Saturday, October 24, then fell to 5–7 minutes by about 08:45, according to the airport’s website. The airport still expects busy periods over the weekend.
How long: End date TBA. The airport’s head of communications, Lise Agerley Kürstein, said the airport does not yet know how long the measures will last. It hopes to resolve the problem early next week.

Key dates

Date	What was reported
Thursday, October 22 (evening)	Extra checks start; waits of at least 45 minutes; about 200 Norwegian passengers miss flights
Friday, October 23	Long morning queues; 30 more Norwegian passengers miss flights; SAS says things improved by midday
Saturday, October 24	45–60 minute waits early, down to 5–7 minutes by about 08:45
Weekend, October 24–25	Measures expected to stay in place
End of measures	TBA; airport hopes for early next week

What it means for non-revs

Get there early. The airport recommends arriving two hours before Schengen flights and three hours before non-Schengen flights. Norwegian is telling passengers to come more than two hours early. Waits have swung from a few minutes to an hour within the same morning, so build in the full margin.
Expect fuller flights after a bad queue. SAS and Norwegian are moving hundreds of passengers who missed flights onto later departures. After a heavy queue period, standby chances on the next few SAS and Norwegian flights are likely to be lower than the loads first suggested.
Check the airport’s wait times before leaving. The airport publishes live security waits on its website. Look before you head out, and again before you commit to a tight listing.
Connecting through CPH? Confirm whether your connection requires you to clear security again. If it does, avoid tight connections until the measures are lifted.
Use online check-in and carry on. Check in online where your airline allows it, and travel with carry-on only so you are not also racing a bag-drop deadline.