DUBLIN (Reuters) -Disruption to airports caused by drones is an irritant but is unlikely to affect profitability, Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said on Thursday.

"Really, I don't think it's going to affect profitability," he said.

"It disrupts our operations. We recover pretty quickly. You know, the airlines are used to dealing with that. ... it is an irritant but you can't take risks on safety."

Earlier on Thursday, Denmark said drone incursions that briefly shut two of its airports and affected military installations overnight were hybrid attacks intended to spread fear.

Those incidents were the latest in a series of drone incursions over the past few weeks that have exposed the vulnerability of European airspace and the challenges governments face in countering them.

O'Leary said "defensive technology" around airports was improving and the greater risk to profitability was "mass unforeseen events" like the COVID-19 pandemic or Russia's invasion of Ukraine.