Dublin Airport should be made liable for costs to an airline if management does not ensure there is a drone free area around the airport, a TD has said.
Fine Gael TD Colm Brophy said the onus has to be on Dublin Airport to prevent drones operating in the area following three days of disruption at the facility over the weekend.
It is illegal to fly drones within 5km of the airport.
“What work has Dublin Airport done on a counter drone system? Everyone was made well aware of the potential repercussions of this issue when thousands of passengers were grounded at Gatwick in Christmas 2018.
“What has happened since at Dublin Airport to prevent a similar scenario here? Not much, it would appear.
“Obviously, Covid brought its own issues to the airport but drones operating illegally there shouldbe a serious concern for management there. What are they doing to prevent this?"
“Airlines had to be diverted or passengers were left grounded and delayed in recent days due to this. The airport should bear the cost of this – not the airline,” Mr Brophy said.
“The current legislation – the Small Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) and Rockets Order, 2015 – contains a number of limitations for the operation of drones. These include never operating a drone if it will be a hazard to another aircraft in flight or 5km from an airport. Is this adequate?
“Minister Jack Chambers needs to consider this too. Our airports, and especially Dublin Airport, must be ready to deal with drones."
Anti-drone systems
Meanwhile, a Senator has called for anti-drone systems to be deployed to counter drones that are illegally flown in the vicinity of airports, coupled with a stronger identification process for drone operators.
Senator Regina Doherty, Fine Gael’s spokesperson on transport, said: “Yesterday, thousands of passengers were impacted when Dublin Airport was forced to close for 45 minutes due to a drone flying in the vicinity of the runway.
“Four Ryanair flights were prevented from landing and were diverted to Belfast and Shannon. Several flights on the ground were prevented from taking off and were significantly delayed.
“This was by no means an isolated incident. Over the weekend, flights were suspended on two separate occasions because of drone activity. Both the passengers and the airlines affected – particularly Ryanair – are justifiably angry, and they are demanding immediate action."
Ms Doherty added: “Drone operators need no reminding that is against the law to fly a drone within 5 kilometres of an airport, and while those responsible would – in theory – face prosecution, it can be difficult to identify them.
“Every drone has a unique identifier called a Media Access Control (MAC) address assigned to it. Through the Irish Aviation Authority, we have a national register of every drone sold in this country, and while every drone operator should – in theory – be linked to an individual MAC address, the system is frequently flouted.
“There are tens of thousands of drones operating here, but very few are actually registered."
