Droning on

Another drone incident halted flights earlier this week and temporarily shut down East Midlands Airport

The airport was closed between 8.00am and 9.00am after a drone was spotted and police confirmed they are currently working to identify the person responsible.

Fortunately on this occasion only 2 flights were delayed, a contrast to the incident at Gatwick airport in December last year when a suspected drone closed the airport for 33 hours disrupting the journeys of 140,000 passengers with easyJet alone putting its compensation bill and lost revenue at £15m

 

A huge police operation and the Army eventually brought the incident under control.

Military anti-drone equipment, which can detect the flying machines and disable them by jamming radio signals, remained at the airport until March.

You only have to search the internet to see the increasing number of Drone incidents at airports in recent months

The latest disruption leaked this week to The Huffington Post reveals how climate change activists will use drones to organise mass disruption lasting up to 16 days later this year

Drones will reportedly be flown no higher than six feet, weigh less than 7kg and, although avoiding Heathrow’s designated flight paths, will be flown within a 5km no-drone zone.

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said “The act of flying drones within 5km of an airfield is illegal A spokeswoman for Metropolitan Police added: “The Metropolitan Police Service is determined to play its part in keeping the airspace over London’s airports safe for the thousands of planes flying in and out every week.

“Anyone caught illegally using a drone within the proximity of an airport can expect to be dealt with in line with the law. If flown into the path of an aircraft, a drone has the potential to cause great harm to those on board.

“Affecting the safety of aircraft passengers is very different to blocking roads around London, and should this happen, the consequences will reflect the severity of the offence.

“The illegal use of drones at airports also has the capability to cause great disruption to the public, not only in London, but internationally”

Signal jamming is the most effective way to disable an errant drone both Gatwick and Heathrow are investing millions of pounds into their systems to prevent future flight disruption.

Let’s hope effective measures are put in place soon at our major airports to prevent further attacks causing misery to passengers and holiday makers

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